r -

FORD MADOX BROWN

If!

FORD MADOX BROWN

fc of &t

BY

FORD M. HUKR'KR

WITH NUMEROUS REPRODUCTIONS

Work ! which beads the brow, and tans the flesh

Of lusty manhood, casting out its devils !

l!y whose weird art transmuting poor men's eviK.
Their bed seems down, their one dish ever fresh '

For the Picture called ' Work

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.

LONDON, NFAV YORK, AND BOMBAY
1896

All r i £ h t - i

Art

626410

9 i.s4

TO

MY MOTHER

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I
PARENTAGE

1735-1821

I'AGK

Similarity of career of grandfather and grandson — Dr. John Brown
— His education — Becomes a tutor — Repartees — Repairs to
Edinburgh — Becomes a medical student— His success with
pupils— Writes Elements Mciticiinc- -Quarrels with Cullen and
Edinburgh doctors— Ostracism— Journey to London and death
— Posthumous fame— Invitation of Frederick the (ireat — His
children— Madox Browivs father, Ford Brown — A purser —
Marries Miss Madox Birth of a daughter, and of Ford Madox
Brown I

CHAPTER 11

KARLY RECOLLECTIONS AND STUDENT MHO
1821-1840

Calais — Anecdote of Beau Brummell — Migratory childhood — Pre-
cocious musical and artistic displays— Leanings towards a
naval career — Paints portrait of his father — Becomes a pupil of
(iregorius of Bruges at the age of fourteen — Van Hanselaer —
Portrait of his sister and other pictures— Becomes pupil of
Wappers at Antwerp (1838)— Life at Antwerp — Anecdotes-
Sells a picture— Head of a l*<i^c, &C. — Picture of ' Colonel
Kirke,' 1839 — His father's illness and petulance — Madox Brown's
ill-health — Death of his mother— And of his father— Madox
Brown's circumstances Remains at Antwerp under Wappers—
Paints portraits— Letters from his sister— Paints the Giaour*
Confession (1839) — Leaves Antwerp . . . . . .11

viii I.II-E OF FORD MADOX BRO\\'.\

CHAPTER III

PARIS
1840-1845

PACK

Removal from Antwerp to Paris — Dan Casey — Mary Queen of
Scots — Visits England — Marriage— Exhibits at R.A. — Life in
Paris — Plein Air idea — Manfred on the Jungfrau — Return to
old style — Parisina's Sleep— Prudery of the Salon — The
Prisoner of Chilian — Choice of subjects— Byron — Dumas —
Anecdotes of Dumas — The Westminster Hall competition-
Adam and Eve, Harold, and the Spirit of Justice — Haydon's
commendation — Dyce and the competitions— Designs for Kin^
Lear— Visit to England— Tudor Lodge— Society there— Si-
lencing of Jerrold — Declining health of Mrs. Madox Brown—
The Italian journey — Its influence upon Madox Brown — Letter
upon Italian art— Chaucer at the Court of Edward HI. — The
German Pre-Raphaelites — Cornelius and Overbeck— Return to
England, and death of Mrs. Madox Brown 25

CHAPTER IV

PRINCIPALLY IN CLIPSTONE STREET
1846-1849

Unsettled life— Ideas of settling in Paris — Casey — Madox Brown
takes up his work again — Moves to Clipstone Street — Chaucer
— Wickliffe Reading his Translation of the Bible — It attracts
the attention of D. G. Rossetti— Rossetti's letter— Its reception
— Rossetti becomes Madox Brown's pupil — His dislike of
routine work and defection — Personal relations of the two artists
— Rossetti's judgment of Madox Brown's criticisms — Madox
Brown's of Rossetti's— W. M. Rossetti's recollections of Madox
Brown at that date— The Rossetti family — Madox Brown's
friends — Mr. Holman Hunt — Cordelia at the Bedside of Lear —
The Infanfs Repast and smaller works — Portrait of Shake-
speare— Madox Brown's earnings up to this date — Madox
Brown's second marriage— Mrs. Madox Brown— The Pre-
Kaphaelite Brotherhood— Madox Brown's connection with it—
Madox Brown's view— Mr. Holman Hunt's— Mr. F. G.
Stephens's— Mr. W. M. Rossetti's— Disagreement of these
authorities 47

CONTENTS

CHAPTER V

NEWMAN STREET

1850-1851

PAGE

Work during 1850 — Exhibitions — The policy of decentralisation —
Life at the studio— Mr. Arthur Hughes's introduction to Alaclox
Broun — Madox Brown's gloom of mind — Chaucer at tlic Court
of Edward III. — Working clay and night to finish it — Letters to
Mr. Lowes Dickinson about the progress of the picture — And its
treatment by R.A.— About other artists— Thomas Seddon-
Fenton — Rossetti — His ' perfectly divine ' work — Holman Hunt
— Millais — The Press and the P.R. works — Madox Brown's
pronunciation upon them — Mulready, Maclise, and Dyce's com-
mendation—Review of the R.A. Exhibition — 'That animal
Hart ' — Frank Stone — Goodall — Maclise— Dyce — Eastlake—
Landseer, &c. — Madox Brown and the North London School of
Drawing W. I ». Scott's account 67

CHAPTER VI

1852-1855

Christ Washing Peter's I'cct — Portraits contained in it — Other
works— Important works begun— The Last of England, Work,
and the English Autumn Afternoon— Sales— Exhibition of the
rrctty llaalMinbsicRA. the Christ and 'Peter at the R. A.— Madox
Brown's last appearance on those walls — His reasons— Rude-
ness to (irant — McCracken's purchases — His enthusiasm —
Mutual helpfulness of the Pre-Raphaelite painters — Letter from
Mr. Hunt about their plans — Madox Brown's solitary and hard-
working habits — Letter to Mr. Dickinson about his own and
brother artists' \vorjc in hand — The commencement of Work —
Rossetti's struggles with chaos —Work done in 1853 — Increased
solitariness and misanthropy Rossetti's chaff — Letters from
Mr. Hunt and Seddon Madox Brown's malady reache> a
climax Takes a holiday in London — Letter to Mrs. Madox
Brown about plays, &c. — Work during 1854 Disastrous sale at
Phillips'— Madox Brown's life during the year — Letters from
Seddon, in Egypt, about his own and Holman Hunt's work
Hunt's unsparing-ness of models -Similarity in Madox Brown's
case ()ut-of-door work in cold weather — Work during 1855

x LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

PAGS

Landscapes — Hendon, &c. — The Last of England finished—
Description of the picture— Its success— Excursions into the
country round Hendon — Anecdote of Turner .... 80

CHAPTER VII

1856

< Gloominess of Madox Brown's financial outlook — Driven to pot-
boiling — Works in hand — Work, Stages of Cruelty, and Crom-
well on his Farm — Reasons for Madox Brown's unsuccess —
Letter from Thomas Woolner — Madox Brown's circle — The
Liverpool Academy— Letter from B. G. Windus — Letter from
Mr. Flint about Work — Rossetti at that date — Mrs. Hueffer's
reminiscences — Madox Brown's diary — A visit from ' Old
White ' the dealer — The ' manufacture of callow-types (sic) en-
larged ' — Rossetti's work in hand described — Drawing from a
dead body — Hunt's Christ in the Temple — Millais' Autumn
Leaves and the Blind Girl — Woolner's Tennyson — Appreciation
of Rossetti's generosity — Royal Academy Exhibition — Hunt's
Scapegoat — Localising Lord John Russell — Visit to St. Ives —
Cromwell's county — His branding-iron — Fresh subjects for
pictures — Out-door work — W. B. Scott's ' Table-talk ' — Altera-
tions in Christ and Peter — Painting lilac leaves — ' Dining at
Hunt's5 — An Academic model — Woolner's anecdotes — William
Morris — Christ and Peter finished — Woolner's Bacon — Suggest-
ing alterations — Praise of Rossetti — Christ and Peter gains Liver-
pool prize — Visit to Liverpool — Peter Miller — William Davis,
of Liverpool — Visit to Browning — Browning's anecdotes —
Carlyle's music, &c. — Rossetti's five minutes — First appearance
of gout — Mr. Flint — Commission for Work .... 105

CHAPTER VIII

1857-1858 f

Work during 1858 — The Russell Place Exhibition — The American .
Exhibition — Letter from Mr. Hunt — The Manchester Art
Treasures Exhibition— Mr. Frederick Shields — Visit to Oxford
— Madox Urowivs diary, 1857: Work upon Work — Death of
Thomas Seddon — Committee meeting at Ruskin's — Ruskin at
W.M.C.— Work— The Manchester Exhibition— Work during
1858 — The American Exhibitions — Letter to W. M. Kossetti —
Chaucer gains Liverpool Prise— The Hogarth Club — The
Working Men's College 142

CONTEXTS xi

CHAPTER IX
1859-1861

PAGE

Work during 1859— Duplicates — Quarrel with Hogarth Club — A
new patron — Letters from Carl vie -Portrait of Carlyle — Ugliness
of P.-R. Women — Madox Brown and Volunteers — Rossetti'.s
Shooting — Music — Work during 1860 — English Boy — Irish
Girl, &e. — Prosperity — -Hospitality — Liverpool artists — Ros-
setti's marriage Soup kitchen— Work during 1861 — Finances
of Work — Letter about artists and commissions — Founding of
Messrs. Morris, Marshall, Falkner& Co. — Origin of the ''Firm '--•
Madox Brown on exhibitions — His attitude towards the R.A.
and Academicians Mr. George Rae — The Amenities of Volun-
teering in 1861 — Symposia — Letter from Rossetti — Rossetti and
Friends — Decease of Hogarth Club ...... 160

CHAPTER X
1862-1865

Work during 1862 — Work — Stained-glass Cartoons — The Cotton
Famine — Subjects connected with it — Exhibitions — The Inter-
national Exhibition — Madox Brown's pictures there- -Madox
Brown and H.M. Commissioner* Last appearance of Madox
Brown's pictures in London — Death of Mrs. 1). G. Rossetti
Moving— Domestic matters — Work during 1863 — Completion
of Work — -Description of the picture — The Carlyles' admiration
of the picture — Other designs— Kin^ Rene's Honeymoon— Death
of Sir Tristram Elijah and the Widows Son— The R.A.
Hanging Committee — Work during \%6$—E/iud and E^lon
Jacob and Joseph's Coat— Oswald Cartoons J'iccadilly E.r/iibi-
tion — Rossetti's and Swinburne's suggestions for advertisements
Private view, »S:c. — The Press- Results — Diary — Friends'
work — ' Thomas Bullion '— Garrick Club— Moving — Children's
talent— Brighter outlook 183

CHAPTER XI
1866-1868

Work during \&66—Jaa>/> and Joseph's Coal — Entombment -Cor-
delia's I'ortion — Bank balance Relations between Madox
Brown and D. C. Rossetti— Work during 1867 Replicas, &C.

xii LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

— Romeo ana Juliet — The Traveller — Rossetti and patrons —
Work during 1868 — Gout — Directions to lawyer for picture-
cleaning — Gossip — Burne-Jones' house-warming — The ' Boat-
race ' — Other artists' work, &c. — Spiritualistic soiree — Rossetti
and the ' Bogies' — His picture La Pia — Dinner to celebrate
completion of the Earthly Paradise — Thirteen at table —
Children's work — Gout — Fitzroy Square Evenings — Sending
out invitations, &c. — Letter about gout and work — Rossetti's
poems — Tragedy and mystery — Friends' work . . . .221

CHAPTER XII
1869-1871

Work during 1869 — Don Juan — Jacopo Foscari — Replicas, &c. —
Elijah at Manchester — Controversy — Madox Brown's enemies
— His methods of making them — Period of depression — Want
of the faculty for reclame, £c. — Reappearance of patrons and
prosperity — Brother artists' and children's work — Rossetti's
poems — A mystery and tragedy — Death of the chameleon —
Oliver's sonnet — Work during 1870— Replicas — Byron subjects
— Sardanapalus — The Corsair — Oliver's Mazeppa — Increased
hospitality — Its effect on output of work — Rossetti at ' Scalands '
— Dante's Dream— Rossetti's poems — Tales, reviews, &c. — Ros-
setti's animals : zebu, wombat, &c. — Nonsense rhymes — Work
during 1871 — Replicas of Entombment, Corsair — Sardanapalus
— Designs for Down Stream— Proposed subjects — Children's
\\ork — Lynmouth — Gossip - . . 245

CHAPTER XIII

1872-1874

Work during 1872 — Portrait of Professor and Mrs. Fawcctt — Con-
valescent— Sardanapalus and Don Juan replicas — Rossetti's
illness — Madox Hnmns account of it — Rossetti's recovery
Holding fund — Marriage of Catherine Madox Brown — Madox
linmn's candidature for the Slade Professorship — Letter from
D. G. Rossetti to the Home Secretary — Madox Brown's ad-
dress to the Vice-Chancellor — Failure — Sir Francis Grant,
P.R.A. — Advantage of politeness — Madox Brown's view of
picture-buyers — Rejected pictures of the Royal Academy-
Whistler's Portrait of it is Mother, &c.— Children's work, Oliver's
;i>riel Denver' Work during 1873 : Oil Don Juan, Jacopo
j'oscari, llyron and Mary Clnr^'orth — Completion of Cromwell

CONTENTS

Kill

on Jiis Farm (1856) — Return to Nature : Portraits, Lohengrin,
Piano, Lectures— Death of William Davis— Madox Brown's
charitable schemes — Rossetti's remonstrance — Review of W. M.
Rossetti's ' Fine Art, chiefly contemporary ' — ' Gabriel Denver ' —
Rossetti's jocular letter — History of Charles Augustus Howell —
Joaquin Miller — James Smetham—' Pre-Raphaelite J poets-
Work during 1874 271

CHAPTER XIV
1875-1878

Work during 1875 — Byron and Mary CJtawortk—Q\\ Cordelias
Portion — Suggested subjects, Rubens' Ride, &c. — Lectures at
Edinburgh and Newcastle — Madox Brown's popularity in Man-
chester— Town Hall decorations — Visit to Holland — Dutch
picture galleries and scenery— Rossetti's suggestion for a picture
of Chaucer beating a Franciscan 1'riiir in Fleet Street — Work
during 1876— Supper at Eininaits— Duplicate Christ and Peter
—La Rose de P Infante— Pastel portraits— Purchase of Chaucer
for Sydney Gallery — Manchester fresco project — Madox
Brown and the new school of artists and critics — Madox
Browns' research— Work during 1877— TclPs Son— Cromwell,
Protector of tJic Vaudois — Portrait of Himself— Descriptions —
Deschamps' exhibition— Nervous hysteria — Gout — Roland
Gilderoy — Rossetti's illness — Madox Brown with Rossetti at
Herne Bay An indignant landlady— Tourgeneff— The chloral
question— Madox Brown's schemes to make Rossetti renounce
the drug — Rossetti's view of the case — The Manchester fres-
coes— Commission given to Madox Brown by Mr. Shields —
Work during 1878 — Cartoons — Duplicates, &c. — Gout

CHAPTER XV
1879-1881

Work during 1879 : Cartoon and fresco of Baptism of Ed-icin
Description of the picture Smaller work : The cartoon of the
Romans— The Manchester scheme as a whole — Its scope, £c. —
Criticisms and replies — Madox Brown's life at Manchester —
Hard work— Letters, &c. — Madox Bnmn and Lord Derby
Return to London— Reaction— Work during 1880: The Romans

xiv LIFE OF FORD MADOX KRO\\\\

design and fresco, cartoon of Danes— Method of work at Man-
chester—Anecdote of Mr. Hall Cainc's — Plcin air device —
Results of work — Determination to settle in Manchester — A real
'conspiracy' — Gossip — Mr. Shields' windows at Eaton Hall —
Rossetti's 'letters: 'The White Ship:' Mr. Hall Caine— The
I Hake designs — A fractious pig — Midnight adventure — Work
during 1881 : Fresco of the Expulsion of the Danes — Flemish
Weavers, Crabtree, and Weights and Measures cartoons-
Studies, &c. — Temporary return to London — Final settlement
in Manchester — Illness of D. G. Rossetti — His last letter .

CHAPTER XVI

1882-1885

Work during 1882 : Flemish Weavers fresco — Commencement of
Crabtree fresco— Death of D. G. Rossetti — Its effects on Madox
Brown — Efforts to help Dan Casey — French appreciation of
Madox Brown — Madox Brown's view of his position — Fire at
Sydney Art Gallery — Work during 1883: Crabtree fresco —
Commission for remaining six frescoes given to Madox Brown *
— Madox Brown 'on strike' — Increase of payment — Royal
Academy exhibition of Rossetti's works — Design for Rossetti's
gravestone — Work during 1884: Weights and Measures fresco
— Application — Madox Brown on picture-buyers — Work during
1885 : Pastels— Bust of Rossetti— Purchase of Work by Man-
chester Corporation . . . . . . ... -352

CHAPTER XVII

1886-1887

Work during 1886 : diet ham's Life Dream, Wickhffe on Trial—
Rossetti memorial : Letter from Madox Brown on the subject —
Labour Bureau — Madox Brown and the unemployed — Madox
Brown's attitude towards the Royal Academy and kindred
bodies— Work during 1887: The decorations for the dome of
the Manchester Jubilee Exhibition, £c. ; John Dalton — The
H(>diiington (iroup and collection — Madox Brown's relations
with Manchester Society — Return to London — St. Edmund's
Terrace . . . . . . . . . . .371

CONTEXTS

CHAPTER XVIII

1888-1893

PAGE

Work and sales during- 1888-89 — Work during 1890: John Kay —
1891 : The Opening of the Bridgcisatcr Canal — 1892 : Krnd-
shaw's Defence of Manchester- Life at St. Edmund's Terrace—
Personal appearance, kindheartedness, &c. — Death of Dr
Hueffer and of Mrs. Madox Brown— Reception of the Bridge -
\ter Canal panel, &c. — Chicago Exhibition — Commission for
a picture to be presented to the nation—Illness and death
October 6, 1893 3^4

CHAPTER XIX

MADOX UROWX'S WORK .... 403

APPENDICES

A. MADOX BROWN AS A TEACHF:K, S'lfDii.s. &c. . . . 425

15. A LIST OF MADOX BROWN'S MORK IMPORTANT WORKS . 432

C. CATALOGUE OF SOME OF MADOX HROWN'S DESIGNS FOR

STAINED GLASS 445

INDEX 449

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FULL-PACK PLATES

WASHES PETER'S FEE! r<iintcd 1852) . Frontispiece

/•',;> HI tin fiftnn- in the National (iallery.

PORTRAIT OK i HI: AIMI>T l\iintcd i S75) . . . To fdcc p. \

/•'r,>»i the picture in tlic possession of Mr. I'h,;n/ •</;• 1 1 'utts-Diinton.

PORTRAIT o! FORD URONVN. SEN ........ 14

I-'rom the painting i" the possession of Mr. II. Rathf.

PORTRAIT OF MADOX P>R<»\\.\'- MOIIIKR, 1835. • • • 2I

l-'rom the original in /.

'I HK P.ODV OF HAROLD i;Ror<;m IIKFORK \\'ILI.IAM i in.

<'o.\(jrKROK (Designed 1843) ..... .. 23

l-ront the. cartoon in !• 5 //''•'/

Art.

THK Kxi-.ci i K.N ot MARY OII.I.N OF SCUTS (l\iintcd

|S42: ............. 26

l-'roni the picture in the ; Mr. Henry lioJdington.

WlCKLIKFK READING HIS TRANSLATION OF THK P.IIM.K

TO JOHN OF GAUN1 (/'ninti-if 1847) . . .. 49

I-'rom the picture, in the possession of Mr. Wilkinson.

POKTRAM MI MADOX F>Ro\vN AT PHE AGE OF TWENTY-

NINE ....... ,,67

I-'rom the original in the possession of Mr. II'. .17. Rossetti.

CHAUCER AT THE COURT OF EDWARD III. (Painted 1851) „ 71

l-'rom the picture in the Sydney Municipal (iallery.

xviii LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

THE LAST OF ENGLAND (Painted 1855) . . . To face p. 100

/•'rum the picture in the Birmingham Gallery.

THE PRISONER OF CHILLON, 1856 „ 119

STUDY FOR 'STAGES OF CRUELTY' [CATHERINE MADOX

BROWN] „ 131

I- nun the original in the possession of the writer.

THE TRAVELLER, 1860 „ 161

EXPULSION FROM THE GARDEN OF EDEN, 1869 . . ,, 183

From the stained-glass cartoon in the possession of Mrs. Hueffer.

WORK (Painted 1863) 189

From the picture in the Manchester Gallery.

DEATH OF SIR TRISTRAM (Painted 1864) . 200

From the picture in the possession of Mr. George Rae.

ELIJAH AND THE WIDOW'S SON (Painted 1868) . . „ 202

From the picture in the South Kensington Museum.

THE ENTOMBMENT (Painted 1869) , 222

From the picture in the possession of Mr. Henrv Boddington.

CORDELIA'S PORTION (Painted 1875) 223

From the monochrome in the possession of Mr. I-' rands.

DON JUAN (Painted 1870) 246

From the picture in the possession of Miss Blind.

Mi<>. MADOX BROWN, 1869 ,,254

Frt'Hi the pastel in the possession of Mr. II. Rathbone.

I)i.-n,\ IUK ROSSETTI'S • Do\v\ STRKXM." 1871 . . „ 263
CROMWELL ON HIS FARM (Painted 1874) 291

From the picture in the possession of Mr. Brockbank.

Mk>. \V. M. RossETTl AND DAUGHTER, 1876 . . „ 307

From the pastel in the possession of Mr. II'. M. Rossetti.

CROMWELL, PROTECTOR OF THE VAUDOIS (Painted 1877) ,, 313

From the picture in the possession of Mr. Brockbank .

H'iMKk AND SHAKK-I'!- \Ki . 1871-79 323

From the designs for the ' Worthies' scries in O-«.>en> College,
Manchester.

I m I', \IMI-M OF EDWIN (Pain ted 1880) . . . . „ 329
THE ROMANS BUILDING M \\< HKMI.R (Painted 1879) . „ 338

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xix

THE EXPULSION OF THE DAXKS FROM MANCHESTER

(Pain fed 1881) To face p. ^

CRABTRF.E DISCOVERING TRANSIT OF VENUS (Painted

1883) ,,360

\VUKLIFFE ON TRIAL (Painted 1886) ,373

JOHN DALTON COLLECTING MARMI (iAs (Painted 1887) „ 379

DESIGN FOR Miss P>I.INH'> M)R\MA> IN MINIATURE,'

1891 386

STUDIK>. I-'IR-I SKF.TCHK>, \T p. 430 et seq.

RO.MI.O AND Jt'i.n.r, 1876. Front ait autotype reproduction.
DKSICN inu STAINED-XzLASS, • 'I'm. TKAN.M K;I KAI K>\,
1857. l-'rom the original in ; < , Powell 6*

Co.

OM. 01 mi 'LEAR1 SI.KIKS. I'aris, 1844. l-'roin original

in possession of the -writer.
SKI.H m..-. AND STI'DIK*. I'ari.s, 1844. l-'r»m original in

ion of Mr. l-'airfa.\ Murray.
Sn Dll.s K»K L C'llAi ( i.u,1 1845. l-'nnn original in

Mr. l-airl\i\ Murray.
FIRM- SKI.M II HiK 'CHAUCER,' 1845. /•'/'"/// original in

• Mr. l-airfa.\ Murray.

SKI KHK- AND Siiiiii:> rok 'Orui. I.ADII-: 01 (JooD
CHII.DKKN,' 1846. 1-rom original in : Mr.

l-airfa\ Murray.
STfDV l-'oK \Vl(Kl.IMi, i'->47 /•/•-'/// original in /vsscssid/r

of Mr. l-'airfa\ M urray.
STL'DV, 1847. l-'rom original in />< -.>.<•(•.*> ion of Mr. l-'airfa\

M array.
I-'IKSI SKI.KII I'oK l'i< ii KK Hi \\'<>KK, 1852. l-'rom

original s> •! .Mr. R. S. C.arnett.

S'lTDV IOK 'L\M ••! l-'.N<.i A.M), 1852. I-'roni original in
pom-.^ion of Mr. l-'airfa\ Murray.

UNFINISHED PAINTING: 'TAKE vc.i K SON, SIR.' 1857.

/•'rout original in /mssfssion of Mr. Harold Rathbonf.
CHKIM HI.|'.>SINC LITTLE CIIII.DKI-.N, 1862. l-'rom the

of reproductions published by M>' Rathbone. Reproduced
from a ' I- inn' or isorking copy of Mado\ I)>-i"i'n'.\ cartoon .

'I'm. AHI HAN(;i:i.s I'KII.I. AND Mi< IIAKI., 1862. l-'rom Mr.
Harold Rathbone' s scries of reproductions of staincd-glas*
carl

xx LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

IN TEXT

PAGE

MRS. MADOX BROWN, 1848 61

STUDY FOR HEAD OF CHAUCER [PORTRAIT OF D. G. ROSSETTI],

1850 74

THE ENTOMBMENT, 1867 222

ABRAHAM AND ISAAC, 1867 231

DESIGN FOR ' CHILDE HAROLD,' 1869 265

OLIVER MADOX BROWN, NOVEMBER 6, 1874 293

ILLUSTRATION FROM THE ; BROWN OWL,' 1892 . . . .389

LIFE

OF

FORD MADOX BROWN

CHAPTER I

PARENTAGE

1735 1821

Similarity of career of grandfather and grandson — Dr. John Brown — His
education — Becomes a tutor — Repartees — Repairs to Edinburgh —
Becomes a medical student — His success with pupils — Writes
Elemcnta Medicince — Quarrels with Cullen and Edinburgh doctors —
Ostracism — Journey to London and death— Posthumous fame —
Invitation of Frederick the Great — His children — Madox Brown's
father, Ford Brown — A purser — Marries Miss Madox — Birth of a
daughter, and of Ford Madox Brown.

FORD MADOX BROWN was born in Calais in the year
1821. His father, Ford Brown, a purser — or, as he
preferred to style himself, 'commissariat officer of
the British navy ' — was the son of the once famous
Dr. John Brown. In this descent from a doctor
Madox Brown is not alone in the rank of artists, and
he may have inherited his artistic faculties from
his most noted ancestor. What is more certain is,
that his career and temperament, if not for any here-
ditary reason, were by no means dissimilar to those of

B

2 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1735-

his grandfather. Both were, first and foremost, inno-
vators, protesting against existing traditions, having
both arrived at their conclusions by means of inde-
pendent study and experience. The Anti- Lancet
physician's creed having been formulated and laid
before academic authorities, was received with a storm
of disapprobation and medico-popular opprobrium, to
be afterwards gradually appropriated and received into
practice, if not by the original champions of the Esta-
blished, at least by the inheritors of their mantles. A
similar, if not identical, sentence might sum up the
career of his grandson.

John Brown was born at an uncertain date in the
winter 1735-36 in one of the twin-villages Lintlawrs or
Preston, in the parish of Bunkle, in Berwickshire.
His father was a day-labourer, but withal a man of
great strength of character, and one who, boasting no
education himself, had an exceeding reverence for the
utility of learning. This fact led to the early tuition
that John Brown received at a dame school where his
father sent him, saying ' he would gird his belt tighter
to give his son John a better education/ John repaid
his father's sacrifice with an insatiable love of learning.

o

At the age of five he had read through the four
Gospels, no mean feat. But his comprehension of
them would not seem to have kept pace with his
study, for at the same age, on the death of his father,
he was found wandering off over the moors in search
of the kingdom of Heaven, whither, he was told,

1 82 1 rAKEXTAGE 3

his father had gone. The ' wabster ' who found
him in this situation offered to be, and in the event
became, a second father to him, in so far as a step-
father could supply the place. That he did so in
a most excellent decree is proved by his continuing
his stepson's education on a higher grade at Dunse
Grammar School, where John was the pupil, and in a
very short time the favourite pupil, of ' the celebrated
Cruickshank.'

Towards the age of ten or eleven, however, he
was removed, and but for the intercession of his
master would have been bound apprentice to a
weaver. Cruickshank, however, urged so effectually
the assurance of John Brown's ultimate success as
a 'seceding preacher,' that the young John was
returned to school, where Cruickshank instructed
him gratis, and, three years after, appointed him his
usher.

His ultimate progress towards medical fame was
a no easy one. All chance of his succeeding as a
preacher was sacrificed to his unwillingness to submit
to a public rebuke for the heinous crime of attending
an Episcopal service. He became a laird's tutor,
but was dismissed his place — or rather manumitted
himself — because sufficient respect was not paid to
his rank, and because he supported a thesis that
' Providence was unjust' by the argument that she so
' frequently made blockheads lairds' This reply being
returned to an insulting question from a convocation

B 2

4 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1735-

of intoxicated lairds that was held in his employer's
house, ensured his dismissal.

He determined to leave the life of ' treading
another's stairs,' and, repairing to Edinburgh, earned
a living by translating into Latin the inaugural dis-
sertations of medical students. This fired him with
the idea of ' rolling in his own carriage,' as he put it,
and he became a medical student, finally making
himself so proficient in that branch of learning that he
opened a boarding-house, and, as it were, a private
college for medical students. His success with his
pupils, and his personal popularity amongst them, were
so great that in a short time 'his income was most con-
siderable, but his manner of living was by much too
liberal for his resources.' The road to fame and
fortune seemed ensured to him. The great Dr.
Cullen, whose correspondence with a hundred conti-
nental learned societies was of necessity carried on
in Latin, being himself an indifferent Latinist, made
ample use of the ' transcendent ' ] classical abilities of
Brown, and extended his patronage to the extent of
promising him the then vacant chair of ' Theory of
Medicine.'

As a thesis for this appointment, Brown wrote his
once famous ' Elementa Medicinae,' but, to the horror

1 His calumniators were in the habit of saying that he had spoilt the
best Latinist in the world by becoming the worst doctor. At a very
advance 1 age, according to Dr. Beddoes,he could quote 'every line that
Horace had ever written.'

i82i r A RE \TAGE -

of Dr. Cullen, the doctrines mooted therein were
hideously heterodox. Cullen, therefore, withdrew his
countenance from Brown's candidature, with fatal
results.

Nevertheless, Brown's popularity with his students,
and their number, increased daily. Whether for this
reason, or out of conscientious dislike to his teachings,
which struck at the universal panacea — the lancet —
and prescribed the now accepted doctrine of ' feeding '
rather than ' starving a fever,' his unpopularity among
the physicians became greater even than his popu-
larity with the students. Cabals that were rife amongst
the Edinburgh doctors affected him very little, and his
mind was even less agitated by their calumnies ; but
the hostility which his* unconciliatory manner evoked
reached an effectual climax in 1785, when the ex-
aminers of the Faculty of Medicine publicly announced
that no candidate holding or mentioning in his thesis
4 BrUnonian ' ideas would be allowed to receive a
clegr

Such a stringent edict had the desired effect.
Edinburgh students were a class of men to whom the
degree was a matter of crucial importance, and they
abandoned perforce their popular instructor. His
disciples at the time numbered over 300.

Somewhat of his popularity was, without doubt,
due to his personality, which was remarkable for its
bonhomie and goodfellowship. To quote from a letter
of Madox Brown on the subject :—

6 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BRO\\'.\ 1735-

4 The tradition in the family was that Dr. Brown,
although engaged all his life in fierce contests of will
and struggles with prejudice, was in his home remark-
able chiefly for his lively good temper and his af-
fectionate care for his many children, rising by five
in the morning to teach his daughters Greek and
Latin.'

On the other hand, his attitude towards his fellow-
physicians was somewhat brusque and uncompromising.
In his ' Life of John Brown,' William Cullen Brown
thus animadverts on the ' Life ' written by Brown's
' arch-enemy ' Beddoes :—

His person, which, in consideration of the eminence of the man
ought to have been mentioned with decency if not with respect, is
likened to that of the clumsy buffoon of Cervantes; his voice is men-
tioned to have been croaking, and his metaphors in conversation,
though, according to Dr. Beddoes, vigorous, animated, and agreeable
to all around him, were disagreeable to him, by whom his company
was not desired a second time.

In any case, the fiat of expulsion went forth against
Dr. Brown, and, having refused l an invitation to
settle in Berlin as body-physician to Frederick the
Great, he came to London with the view of establish-
ing a practice there. He made a slow and semi-
triumphal progress through the North of England.
His convivial faculties rendered him extremely popular,
and the story of his ill-usage had turned warm friends

1 There is a certain mystery about this transaction. Brown was
certainly invited and refused. A doctor— or rather an obscure Welsh
(|ii :i< k of the same name — subsequently obtained the post by falsely
representing himself to be the Dr. John Brown.

,82i PARENTAGE 7

into warmer partisans. To such an extent was his
journey retarded by hospitality, that he at last resorted
to the expedient of selling his too easily digressing
postchaise and horses, and booking the places for
himself and his family on a stage-coach. Thus he
ultimately arrived in London.

Here, after making the acquaintance of the Court
of King's Bench and the Fleet Prison for insolvent
debtors, he contrived to lay the foundation of an
extensive practice, and, moreover, enrolled upwards of
300 new pupils.

Unfortunately apoplexy — or, as his calumniators
had it, an overdose of his favourite gout-medicine,
brandy and opium — cut shoit his career at its most
prosperous point. He was found dead in his bed on
the morning of October 7, 1788. His robust per-
sonality is preserved in the series of John Kay's
' Edinburgh Portraits,' and a portrait of him was
etched by William Blake in 1787. In both of them
he appears as a somewhat burly man, with a tightly
buttoned coat and a substantial bob-wig. His features
are strongly marked and rather hard, but distinctly
Scotch in character.

After his death his popularity became considerable.
The students of Pavia put on mourning for him,
whilst those of Gottingen raised a riot in his honour.
On the Continent his name is preserved as rillustre
fondateur du systcme Brunonien, to quote the French
' Dictionnaire Universelle Biographique.'

8 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1735-

Scott, in his ' Life of Napoleon,' relates that the
Emperor, when imprisoned at St. Helena, set himself
vigorously to dispute with any medical man who
chanced or chose in his presence to oppose Brunonian
ideas, invariably turning his back on anyone who
proved obstinate in his discussion.

A sufficient evidence of the esteem in which Brown
was posthumously held is afforded by the subjoined
letter from his son Ford to his grandson Ford
Madox : —

January 24, 1839.

MY DEAR FORDY, — As I feel myself a little better, I shall try to
trace a few lines for you to puzzle about deciphering. Ur. Copland,
one of the most eminent visiting physicians, gives me advice gratis,
and would not hear of a second fee when he knew who I was, which
fortunately he discovered from my likeness to your grandfather's
picture, and then would hear of no further fees. He also gives your
Aunt Bessy advice gratis. He is a most amiable, talented man of
the first rank, and lectures at the London Institution, where he is
much esteemed, although there was a row among the youths, but
not among his.

In spite of this apparent triumph of his principles
after his death, a calumnious ' Life of Dr. John Brown'
was issued by Dr. Beddoes, a physician otherwise of
note as having been the father of the poet. , Although
this was confuted by W. C. .Brown's ' Life,' prefixed
to Brown's works, and an appreciative biographical
notice in Dr. Pettigrew's 4 Physicians of Eminence,'
the most generally available life of Brown was, until
lately, that in the * Encyclopaedia Britannica,' which
was as far as biographical matters are concerned,

1 82 1 PARENTAGE 9

a condensation of Bedcloes' work. The article on
4 Medicine,' however, does considerable justice to
him, and the notice of Brown in the ' Dictionary of
National Biography,' by Dr. Creighton, is a ' labour

of love.'

Dr. John Brown left two sons, one of whom, his
biographer, William Cullen Brown, rose to a position
of considerable distinction among Scottish surgeons,
becoming- President of the Edinburgh College of that
faculty. The second son was, as has been related,
Ford Brown,1 the father of Ford Madox.

Although a purser's control of ship's material fre-
quently gave him an opportunity of amassing a con-
siderable fortune, Ford Brown does not seem to have
availed himself of the somewhat nefarious means open
to him of turning an honest penny.

An episode in one of Captain Chamier's naval
romances represents the dying ravings and revelations
of thieving by the fever-stricken purser's mate of the
' Arethusa,' of which historic vessel Ford Brown was
for a time purser. But the thefts of his mate would
tell rather against than for his privnte purse. After
serving through the Napoleonic wars, he retired on
little more than his half-pay, and married Miss
Caroline Madox, a representative of an ancient Kentish
family, claiming descent from the legendary Prince
Madoc of Wales. This claim, however, would

1 So called in honour of Dr. Ford, a favourite pupil and friend of
John Broun.

io LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1735-1821

seem to have little more than a family tradition to
uphold it.

As far as may be judged from effigies and monu-
mental brasses extant in several Kentish churches,
his wife's forefathers would seem to have been a race
of sturdy and occasionally combative and rebellious
yeomen and small gentry, and many shades of the
character of the traditional ' Man of Kent ' were not
undiscoverable in the nature of Madox Brown.

After his marriage in 1818 Ford Brown led a
roving life, principally on the Continent, for economy's
sake, moving from town to town near Calais, or in the
Low Countries.

In 1819 was born his daughter, named Elizabeth
Coffin, in compliment to the famous admiral who had
been Ford Brown's captain, and, on April 16, 1821,
his son Ford Madox.

1821-40

CHAPTER II

KARLV KKCOLLKCTIONS AND STUDENT I.Ili:
1821-1840

Calais— Anecdote of Beau Brummcll Migratory childhood— Precocious
musical and artistic displays — Leanings towards a naval career —
Paints portrait of his father- Becomes a pupil of Gregorius of Bruges
at the age of fourteen — Van Hanselaer — Portrait of his sister and
other pictures— Becomes pupil of Wappcrs at Antwerp (1838)— Life
at Antwerp — Anecdotes— Sells a picture — Head of a Page, &c. —
Picture of ' Colonel Kirke,' 1839— His father's illness and petulance —
Madox Brown's ill-health— Death of his mother— And of his father —
Madox Brown's circumstances— Remains at Antwerp under Wappers
— Paints portraits — Letters from his sister— Paints the Giaours
Confession (1839) — Leaves Antwerp.

MADOX BROWN'S earliest years were passed in Calais,
and his first recollections were of Calais battlements
and Beau Brummell.

I extract the following' from a necessarily unfinished
autobiographical sketch dictated to me by the artist on
the second day of the illness to which he succumbed
four clays later :—

I remember Brummell very well (he said), a venerable old gentleman
with a long white beard, who used to take a daily constitutional on
the walls, accompanied by a large bull-dog. It must, I should think,
have been very nearly at the time of his death — but my nurse used
to point him out to me and say in an awestruck whisper : ' C'est le
grand Monsieur Brummell, 1'ami du roi d'Angleterre.' One day the

12 LIFE OF FORD MAD OX BROWN 1821-

before-mentioned bull-dog ran up and greeted an approaching lady of
his acquaintance with so much effusion that, in jumping up at her,
his claws cut her silk dress into ribbons. Of course this annoyed her
a great deal, and she gave the poor brute a kick and called it a bad
name. I shall never forget the dignified manner in which poor
Brummell took off his hat and said : ' Madam, had you made allow-
ances for the poor brute and not so ill-treated him, I should have been
delighted to provide you with a new dress. As it is — -' he replaced
his hat and passed on with a bow. I don't suppose the poor fellow
had five sous in his pocket. I remember it all very clearly— a great
deal more so than anything I ever saw in later days.

His childhood was passed in a series of peregrina-
tions from France to England. His mother's relations
were many, most of them established in Kent, others,
however, as far afield as Llangollen, in the heart of
wild Wales, and to these worthy people he paid many
visits, sometimes with, often without, his parents.

Such a life was, of course, more likely to give him
a ' knowledge of the world ' than to allow him to
receive any very settled education. A certain childish
facility with the violin, which his sister supplemented
with guitar accompaniments, made his society much
sought after amongst his mother's lady friends ; other-
wise his studies progressed little beyond the range of
the three ' R's.'

Towards the age of six or seven young Madox
Brown began to exhibit remarkable, if childish, artistic
faculties. Drawing was with him a passion that con-
tinued, and grew as he grew, and was not merely the
malady of paint and pencil incidental to most child-
hood.

I84o I] A RLY RECOLLECTIONS 13

His own account of the matter is that, in the hotel
garni that his parents occupied in Calais, the walls
were decorated with spirited designs of the conquest
of Peru by Pizarro. He first copied these hangings,
and afterwards launched out into more adventurous
designs of huntsmen and dogs that he saw for him-
self. When he was seven years of age his father
procured for him an Italian drawing-master, who set
him to copy prints after Raphael and Correggio, and
some Bartolozzi engravings that were among his
mother's art treasures.

Ford Brown was at first opposed to his son's
obvious trend towards the ungentlemanly life of an
artist, and applied to Sir Isaac Coffin, the commodore,
for his influence to procure a midshipman's berth for
the young Ford.

At the age of thirteen, too, the life of a ' sucking
Nelson ' offered great attractions to the young artist,
who cordially disliked the routine of copying to which
successive private masters subjected him, and, but for
an estrangement of his father from his patron, it is
not improbable that the future painter of Work
would have experienced the hard lot of the midship-
man's mess, and have died ' a superintendent of
coastguards on the retired list'

Such dangers are, however, incident to most artistic
careers, and Ford Brown, a shrewd man, who had
gained little but rheumatism and half-pay during his
long service, was well aware of the small chance of

i4 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1821-

success open to a young man unless supported by
powerful interest at the Admiralty. In Belgium, more-
over, he saw how honours and emoluments awaited a
successful artist, and, sacrificing his pride of place to the
desire for his son's success, he removed with his family
to Bruges, and enrolled his fourteen-year-old son
among the students of the Academy under Gregorius,
a pupil of the great David.

It is possible that a portrait of Ford Brown, senior,
painted by his son in his fourteenth or fifteenth year,
contributed not a little to this end. For a painter of
that age, with very little education, the picture is a
remarkable one. Grown now so dark with age l that
nothing is visible but the head and hands, the decided
drawing and the characterisation are surprisingly
powerful. When the methods and abilities of his
instructors are considered, one is at a loss to know
whence he drew his inspirations.

His studies under Gregorius of Bruges, which
continued for a year, and under Van Hanselaer of
Ghent, which lasted somewhat longer, seem to have
done little more than temporarily extirpate any indi-
viduality that he may have possessed.

A portrait of his sister Eliza, in my possession, and
painted at the end of his seventeenth year, is singu-
larly bad, and save as an example of how indifferent

1 This was the case when I last saw the picture. The reproducer's
camera has revealed more than was then visible ; but this does not
render necessary any material change of opinion.

FORD BROWN, SI-:NR.

( h'n>m paintuii; in potwion of Mr. H.

1840 EARLY A' {'.COLLECTIONS 15

teaching1 may harm a pupil of strong individuality, is
unworthy of even the most cursory notice. Two
other pictures were painted in the years 1836 and
1857, but neither of them is now traceable. One,
his first composition, was life-size, and represented a
Blind Beggar and his Child. On his parents' visit to
England in 1839 it went with them, and was sold to
a London printseller for ;/. i js. 6d. His second
work, entitled Showing the Way, was given away ; a
study of a Head of a Flemish Fishwife was traceable
to a later date, being ' exchanged with five other
studies (of the same and slightly later periods) for the
large picture of Chaucer in the year 1863.'

In 1837 he also painted several portraits, for one
of which he received 8/., but none of them have been
discovered.

At the end of this period the extended reputation
of Gustaf, Baron Wappers, the distinguished fresco-
painter, induced Madox Brown's parents to migrate
to Antwerp that he might have the benefit of that
master's tuition. Accordingly, during the years 1837
and 1838 they made Antwerp the centre of their occa-
sional flights to English, Welsh, and French towns.
Madox Brown lived sometimes with them and some-
times in Bohemian lodgings in or in the neighbour-
hood of the Rue des Peignes.

From frequently heard reminiscences of this stage
of Madox Brown's life, the atmosphere and many of
its little details have become fixed in the writer's

1 6 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1821-

mind, and their intrusion may perhaps be tole-
rated.

He lived en pension at the ' Hotel du Pot d'Etain,'
occupying a mansarde with his almost lifelong friend
Daniel Casey. Living was not expensive, and on his
weekly allowance of 20 francs he fared not at all ill.

The interests of the ' Pot d'Etain' centred largely
in the cuisine. Except on those evenings when their
purse would not admit of a visit to the opera, they
spent little of their time at their own rooms.

The classes at the Academy began early in the
morning and lasted till midday, and attendance was
compulsory if the prize was to be gained. Midday
was the dinner-hour. There were three rates of pay-
ment at the pension. Twenty sous a day commanded
lodging, the morning's coffee, dinner, and supper.
Fifteen meant ostensibly the same, but the dinner was
skilfully timed to be on the table exactly two courses
before the officers were released from drill-parade.
They were all ' qninze-sous ' pensionnaires, and, out
of deference to their feelings, it was arranged that
the soup and ragout should have disappeared from
the board to give place to a great bowl of potatoes
which formed the third course, and arrived at the
table just as the first officer dashed into the room.
He would unbuckle his belt, cast it and the sword
into the corner behind the door, and without further
ceremony fall to, in which example he was followed
by his fellow-officers. The pay of these poor fellows

j84o EARLY RECOLLECTIONS 17

was little more than a franc and a half a day, and
when fifteen sous had gone for board and one for the
indispensable Havannah, there was a very small margin
for other necessaries.

The artists returned to the atelier in the afternoon,
and worked till light failed them, Madox Brown in
particular being an indefatigable worker. In the
evening a penny purchased a great piece of hot
' gallette,' or a paper cone full of roasted chestnuts,
whilst five sous gave admission to the theatre.

When the necessary centimes were not forthcoming
there remained the pension supper and an evening
spent in leaning out of the window smoking enormous
Studentenpfeifen filled with 'canaster' or 'varinas.'

Next door to the Pot d'Etain dwelt a blonde-
haired maiden, whom the students saw from their
elevated posts of observation as she returned from
Vespers. ' She had very pretty small feet, I
remember,' Madox Brown was accustomed to say ;
1 her face I can't remember — indeed, I don't know
that we ever saw it, but Casey and I plotted together
and made a little scheme to draw her attention to us.
\Ve each bought a bunch of violets, and as she passed
underneath to reach her doorstep, we dropped them
just in front of her. But she did not deign to look
up ; I suppose she must have known what we were
up to. She stamped on one of the bunches of
violets, and that was how I came to know that she
had small feet, but I don't think I ever saw her face.'

c

i8 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1821-

Student life in Antwerp had points of resemblance
with that of the Quartier Latin, as wrell as of Heidel-
berg or Dresden. There was not much dissipation,
and in what there was, Madox Brown, although
taking an occasional share, did not participate to
any large extent ; a fact due as much to his passion
for work as to his parents' influence.

At the same time he had never any lack of the
convivial qualities for which his grandfather had been \
noted. To the end of his life he was a capital raconteur^ \
telling with zest stories of a broad nature that led «'
up to a carefully considered climax. In addition to
' telling a good tale,' he could ' sing a good song,'
and possessed a bass voice well adapted for rendering
such masterpieces as ' 'Tis Jolly to Hunt.'

He had acquired a knowledge of violin playing
from a friend named Pendleton, now Vicar of Jersey,
and the composer of several cantatas. These various
faculties rendered him popular with his fellow-students,
and although in time both instrumental and vocal
powers deserted him, he retained several of their
favourite tales that he told in a curious Belgian-
French, with occasional lapses into Walloon.

During the first two years of his Antwerp life
he painted two pictures, one of which, a Friday of
the Poor, was given away, the other, Job among the
Ashes, after being exhibited at Ghent in 1837, being
sent over to England in 1839, in the hope of its
finding a purchaser as the Blind Beggar had done.

1840 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS 19

In this, however, it failed, being finally sold in
Antwerp. Another work of 1837 was a Head of a
Page, of which Madox Brown painted a finished
picture, which was given away. A charcoal study
for it survives, entitled Domestique qui rit. It was
sold at the sale of Madox Brown's effects in 1894,
together with two studies of the same period, Elizabeth
at the Death-bed of the Countess of Nottingham* and
Flamand voyant passer le Due d Albe, the one an
exposition of a famous apocryphal incident, the other
a head typically presenting the hatred which their
brutal governor inspired in the Netherlanders. Both
are works of really remarkable vigour, the Elizabeth
especially being an almost violent study of a hard-
featured face under the influence of sudden passion.

In January of 1839 Madox Brown's family made
the visit to England during which his father wrote
the letter quoted on p. 8, and his mother accom-
plished the sale of his first work. There had been
some thought of Maclox Brown accompanying his
parents, but at the time his health was weak and the
effects of winter travelling were feared. He remained
working at the Academy, and painting a picture of
'Colonel Kirke,'1 concerning which his father writes
to him from England : —

P.S.— I forgot to tell you the principal. Colonel Kirke was the
monster you mean that committed all these butcheries in the reign

1 In connection with this picture, which (along with several others
presented by Madox Brown to his uncle by marriage, William Jones)

C 2

20 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1821-

of James II. I feel convinced your improvement keeps pace with
my most sanguine hopes, professionally, I mean, but you say nothing
about your health, which gives us a deal of anxiety. 1 hope it
improves, these complaints usually do at your time of life.

The complaints were weakness of the heart and lungs,
due to overgrowth.

Under cover of the same letter his mother writes :

The other four pounds is to enable you to do another picture.
It is not so much money makes your papa want you back, as to send you
of little messages and waste your time for him, for he is just as figity
after Eliza, he wants someone to grumble at. [The old officer was by \
no means a Captain Reece.] He was much pleased with your letter,
and said immediately you should not come home until the hurricane I
months were passed, so make your mind easy about it. Your Uncle \
James says he can introduce you to people who will be the making
of you, but generally ends with how he should like Lizzy, or his wife,
or cottage taken.

His mother was a woman of very sweet temper,
who, whilst humouring and soothing her husband,
contrived to smooth the way for her son, sending him
little sums of money for a corps de reserve, lest his
father's mind should change as to the money matters.

At last his mother found the English climate

disappeared at the time of their owner's death, I quote the note kindly
afforded me by Mr. W. M. Rossetti : ' The story is that Kirke was one
of the officers who suppressed Monmouth's rebellion. A man (A. B.)
was condemned to death. His wife appealed to K. K. told her that if
she would pass a night with him he would save A. B. She consented
reluctantly. In the morning K. opened a window and pointed to A. B.
dangling on a gallows. I saw, towards 1873, the picture which repre-
sents K. and woman at window ; K. with fiendish sarcasm in his face.
A repulsive sort of picture, painted with some force and (of its class)
strong expression. Figures (which are half-figures) life sizes or little
less.'

PORTRAIT OF MADOX BROWN'S MOTHER. 1835.

(Front original in possession of Mrs. Hueffer.)

T84o EARLY RECOLLECTIONS 21

unbearable, and after a severe attack of congestion

of the lungs, from which she partially recovered, the
family moved to Calais, intending to remove to
Antwerp.

On August 27, iS^cj, she writes from Calais to
Madox Brown a letter concerning" ' washhandstands,
and an armchair for your papa in the parlour.' She
was destined never to see her son, dying at Calais
within the week.

To her constant support of him and her sym-
pathy with his wish for undisturbed study, Madox
Brown owed his invaluable three \ears at Antwerp.
The restless spirit of his father was a constant source
of danger during that time, but, partly by persuasion,
and partly by resorting to little- conspiracies, she con-
trived to secure for her son the object he desired.
He had much to thank her for.

Her husband did not long survive her, and before
December of the same year, Ford Madox Brown and
his sister were keeping house alone at '174 Rue
Marche au Lait, in Antwerp.'

From their mother they had inherited a small
income arising from canal-wharf and farm property.
It amounted to somewhat over 2OO/. per annum.

There was thus no need tor Madox Brown's aban-
doning his studies under Baron \Vapj >ers, and he con-
tinued working at the Academy until the; end of the
year.

During his parents' lifetime his mother had drawn

22 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BRO\\'X 1821-

around her a small circle of friends, amongst whom
his portraits of his father and his sister had caused
some little admiration for the young artist. This
culminated in several commissions for portraits, of
accepting which he was by no means so chary after
his father's death as he had been during his life-
time, when the fear of being dragged from his studies
had made him dislike any interruption in their
course.

Thus we find his sister writing in December
1839:—

A Monsieur, Monsieur Brown, an Chateau d1 Houdelange,
par et pres d'Arfon, Luxembourg.

MY DEAR FORD, — I daresay you have expected to hear from me
before, but I waited to see Mr. Slingenger [sic] l to inquire about
your palto [probably paletot], as he sent it off to you because he said
he had a proper case to send it in. ... Baron Wappers called over |
your name at the Academy, and Mr. Slingenger then told him you
was gone into Luxembourg to paint portraits. He was surprised that
you had not been to tell him you was going, but he said he did not
care about your going to paint portraits, but he did not like a good
scholar to absent himself for any other reason when he had so much
likelihood of gaining the prize. Uncle Madox has sent us over some
law papers, and I have been obliged to get Mr. Whitcomb to witness
them. Fortunately I met him coming out of church, therefore had
not to go to their house. It was about the sail of a little bit of wharf
to Mr. Borret, because our ground went into his. Uncle Madox
also asked if we would like to exchange our ^ of Crayford Farm for
£ of the Red Lion, because the estate is in gavelkine, and in that

1 Slingeneyer, a painter of a certain celebrity, painted The Christian
Martyr in the Amphitheatre Den, &c. In 1871 several of his works were
exhibited at South Kensington at a time when Belgian art was still
popular in England.

1840 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS 23

.1 person as young as fifteen may sign away his property if in
possession. He says he wishes you could run over in the spring
when Trissy is at home and take his and aunty's portraits, and adds
that the portraits would pav the passage.

Madox Brown was then engaged on the portraits
of ' Monsieur Dombinsky, his lady, and his brother,'
for M. Dombinsky, who was a captain in the army
of Luxemburg. The prices paid for these works
amounted to thirteen pounds^ being four pounds
apiece for the portrait of the captain and his wife,
and five pounds for that of his brother.

I cite three entries of the same period from a
little red account-book in which Madox Brown was
accustomed to enter particulars of the work he exe-
cuted, a practice he continued, using the same note-
book, to the last days of his life.

Gircn.— Portrait of Surtees or Pembroke— his name was

quite uncertain — a fiddler. ..... 1839

I find he is Pendleton, now a clergyman. . . . 1877

Given.— Portrait of a coloured gentleman, named Halli-

day, a friend of mine 1839

8/. os. o</.— Portrait of a gentleman of Ghent, name

forgotten . 1839

His only finished work of the year 1839 was an
oil painting of the Giaours Confession, which was
exhibited at the Royal Academy of the year ensuing.
He also commenced the picture of the Execution of
Mary Stuart.

With 1839 terminated his studentship at the

24 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1821-40

Antwerp Academy, although he did not finally quit
Antwerp till towards the end of the following year.

Under the auspices of Baron Wappers he had
acquired the considerable knowledge that did not
desert him in later life, and ' which,' as the critic of the
' Athenaeum ' puts it, ' distinguished him from first to last
from the majority of the contemporaries of his youth
in England, who were by no means so well trained.
It made him a master of all the processes of the art,
from etching and lithography to painting in pastels,
fresco, encaustic, oils and water-colours. He was
enabled to distinguish himself in all these directions
because he thoroughly understood the technique of
each method.'

i84o 45 25

CHAPTER III

PARIS

1840

Removal from Antwerp to Paris Dan Casey- Mary (_>uccn of

Visits England- Marriage— Exhibits at R. A. —Life in Paris— 7 '/<•///
Air \<\c-A.----Manfreti on the Jungf'rau- Return to old *tylr
rarisinas Sleep Prudery of the Salon — The Prisoners of Chilian -•
Choice of subjects— Byron — Dumas — Anecdotes of Dumas The
Westminster Hall competition Adam and 7:7 r, Harold, and the
Spirit of Justice Haydon's commendation— Dyce and the compe-
titions— Designs for King Lear— Visit to England — Tudor Lodge
—Society there Silencing of Jerrold — Declining health of Mis.
Madox Broun The Italian journey— Its influence upon Madox
Brown -Letter upon Italian art— Chaucer at the Court of Edward
III. The C.erman Pro Raphaelites— Cornelius and Overbci k
Return to England, and death of Mrs. Madox Brown.

L\ the early part of the year 1840, Madox Brown
removed the. scene of his studies from Antwerp to
Paris, .n'oino- in company with his friend Casey. It
is possible that a generous, if somewhat rash, act of his
friend hastened their departure.

A letter of Madox Brown's sister, written a day
or two before that date, chronicles the event
which occurred at the. funeral of an attached servant
of one of their friends. The students attended the
ceremony as a mark of respect, and were disgusted to

26 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1840-

find that the grave-digger and his assistant were seated
conversing, with pipes and ale to aid them, on the
coffin at the edge of the grave. Casey, who WHS
Irish by descent and slightly hot-headed, without
any parley precipitated the offenders- into the grave,
and in consequence was s wanted ' by the ecclesiastical
police. Whether the affair was compromised, or
whether Casey hurried his departure in fear of the
consequences, I have not been able to discover ; in
any case, Madox Brown followed him to Paris after a
short interval. During that time he was painting his
first great historical picture, the Execution of Mary
Qiieen of Scots.

After its completion, towards the end of March,
Madox Brown visited England, staying with his uncle
Madox at Foots Cray, and his future brother-in-law,
Richard, afterwards Sir Richard Bromley, K.C.B., at
Meopham, in the county of Kent. Here he painted
portraits of all his relations there resident.

They are mostly quaint little medallions. It is
only necessary to cite, in particular, that of his Aunt
Madox, a rather hard-favoured lady, whose expression
Madox Brown had reproduced with more fidelity than
flattery. Another portrait, that of his cousin, Elizabeth
Bromley, caused an ensnaring of hearts and the subse-
quent early marriage, which took place the same year
in Paris.

During the year his last year's picture, the
diaonrs Confession, was exhibited at the Royal

1845 PAK/S 27

Academy,1 and at this time he entertained some idea
of settling in this country and becoming a portrait
painter. It was, however, just at this time that the
first notions of realistic painting began to disturb his
mind, and caused him to feel a desire for further study.
According to the prevailing idea at that date, the only
city that offered great inducement was Paris. Thither,
too, he was drawn by his continental sympathies and,
to some extent, by the desire to live an pins bon
inarchc.

The death of his sister Elizabeth had doubled his
small income, and to this was to be added a somewhat
smaller addition — the dowry of his wife. The joint
produce of these three sources was about 2507. a year,
a sum upon which it was possible to live very respect-
ably in Paris. Mrs. Madox Brown was somewhat
older than her husband, and was sufficiently handsome
and accomplished to move with some distinction in the
society of the better class of Knglish in that city.

Madox Brown, on the other hand, was not only
young in as far as the date of his birth was concerned,
but his appearance was so juvenile as to make the
clergyman who officiated at his wedding ask with
some asperity, ' Where is the bridegroom ? '

His penchant was rather towards the easy life of a
student than the more constrained one of the drawing-
room, to which he had, at all times, an absolute
disinclination.

1 No. 439 in Catalogue.

28 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1840-

The students with whom, rather from circum-
stances of race than artistic congeniality, he was most
connected in the eyes of his French friends were,
curiously enough, the painters John Cross and Armi-
tage. The three were, in fact, known as the ' English
triumvirate.'

His more particular friends were, however, the
Belgians Casey, De Grouckel, and James.

Not finding a congenial master, Madox Brown did
not enrol himself among the pupils at any of the
ateliers, but spent the greater portion of his time at
the Louvre, where he studied ' Rembrandt and the
Spanish masters.'

Of these masters copies by him survive in the
possession of members of the family, and in the
gallery of Mr. Boddington. These, however, were
painted during the years 1841 and 1842.

Before this time he had conceived the idea of
painting pictures in which the real effects of light
should be recorded. The immediate outcome of this
was the picture of Manfred on the Jnngfrau, speak-
ing of which, in I865,1 ne savs : —

This work, composed in 1840, when I was nineteen, and painted
in Paris, belongs, with the five following examples, to the period of
my art studentship in Belgium and Paris. In this instance, how-
ever, the picture has been much touched upon as recently as 1861, so
that the original scheme of colour is obliterated, little more than the
dramatic sentiment and effect of black and white remaining. Such

1 Catalogue of the Piccadilly Exhibition.

i845 r.lRIS 29

as it is, it was a first, though not very recognisable, attempt at outdoor
effect of light. . . . The work is intended for consideration merely
on the human and dramatic side, glaciers not having formed part of
my scheme of study in those days.

Another work of the same period, in which the
same 'not very recognisable attempt' at realism of
light is made, is also a subject from ' Manfred '-
Manfred in the Chamois Hunter s Hut.

This, which is a much smaller work, hardly more
than a large sketch, has not been retouched to nearly
the same extent, and affords a better idea of Madox
Hrown's work in this stage of his art career.

That it is not particularly attractive goes without
saying — as far as execution goes, it is even more
1 painty ' than the works executed the year before
under the eye of Wappers. The colours are brighter,
and have a more tentative effect. The drawing of
Manfred himself is intensely dramatic, but the rest of
the picture is very little finished. At this point he
would seem, for some reason, to have dropped his
Promethean ideas, perhaps owing to the coldness with
which Casey and his other student friends received
them. It was then that he set to work diligently to
copy the Rembrandts at the Louvre.

The immediate outcome of this course of study
was the picture of Parisina s Sleep. I quote from
the 1865 Catalogue : —

Parisina in her sleep mutters a name which first gives weight
and direction to the suspicions already implanted in the mind of her
husband, the Prince Azo :

3o LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1840-

' He plucked his poniard in its sheath,
But sheathed it ere the point was bare ;
Howe'er unworthy now to breathe,
He could not slay a thing so fair . . .'

This work, painted at Paris in 1842, offers a good example of my
early style, it having been only very slightly retouched since. Such
as it is, this style, I must observe, is neither Belgian, such as I
learned in the school of Baron Wappers, nor that of the Parisian
ateliers, the latter I always entertained the greatest aversion for.
Cold pedantic drawing and heavy opaque colour are impartially dis-
pensed to all in those huge manufactories of artists, from which,
however, every now and then a man of feeling or genius surges up
and disentangles himself. The style has rather its origin in the
Spanish pictures and in Rembrandt.

The subsequent history of the picture is curious.

It was rejected at the exhibition of the French
Salon in 1843, a polite accompanying" note stating that
the subject was too improper for the walls of a French
gallery under Louis Philippe, but neither subject nor
execution prevented its appearance at the exhibition
of the British Institution, when Victoria was Queen in
1845. Another design in this style that has survived
is that of the Prisoners of Chilian, which, although
lighter in its scheme of colouring, presents the same
dramatic intensity and power of drawing, and much
the same mark of Rembrandtish influence.

As far as the ' literary ' side of Madox Brown's
work of the period is concerned, the influence of
Byron is visible enough, and is not to be wondered at.

The romantic school was then at its height in
Paris, and the one modern English poet with whose

1 845 PARIS 31

works Maclox Brown would either boast of or wish
for acquaintance was Lord Byron ; indeed, to a
very much later date Byron subjects occupied and
filled his mind, to the exclusion perhaps of all poets
but Shakespeare and Rossetti. Up to the time of
his final settlement in this country, Madox Brown
was essentially a foreigner as regards his know-
ledge of the arts, and only poets of ' European '
reputation appealed, or were practically accessible,
to him.

In his earlier clays ' Till Eulenspiegel ' had been his
favourite reading, as it had been that of the student
society to which he belonged, otherwise he wrould
appear to have read little more than the historical
works from which he drew his subjects. In Paris
Dumas was the god of his comrades' worship, and
Madox Brown, who, in later days and in his own art,
became a stern realist, worshipped Dumas with a
perfervid and now nearly incomprehensible worship.
This extended in a less degree to Victor Hugo and to
the minor Romanticists.

The students' talk was for ever of Dumas. The
myriad wildly impossible tales that have been circu-
lated about him found a ready credence in their circle.
It was said that Dumas, in order to ' raise the wind,'
had sailed off in his yacht to Constantinople, had
paraded the bazaars as a great French nobleman, had
ordered arsenals of most magnificent gold-inlaid, be-
jewelled muskets and yataghans to be sent on board

32 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1840-

his yacht for inspection. Then, with his cabin full
of priceless weapons, he had shipped his anchor,
unfurled his sails, and left the harbour at midnight.
The plunder fetched enough to keep him forty days in
Paris, and the student- world said : ' A very legitimate
confiscation from the unspeakable Turk.'

Again, Dumas, in order to ' raise the wind,' had
gone to a certain costumier. ' Pay me a million
francs,' he was reported to have said, ' and I will sit
in your shop window for an hour.' That said and
done, the news spread. All Paris and all student
Paris rushed to gaze at Dumas in his capacity of
tailor's dummy.1

Madox Brown, among the crowd, saw nothing but
the backs of a crowd of a thousand souls, and seeing
also that the troops were preparing to disperse the
crowd, departed as he had come.

The artist's admiration for Dumas led to no
pictorial result ; and, although he was taken to visit
the demigod of fiction, he remembered little of the
visit. It is possible that the industry called forth by
the announcement of the Westminster Hall competi-
tions put all other considerations out of his head, just
as it set so many to work on cartoons of enormous
size.

The subjects that Madox Brown selected were

1 It is, of course, scarcely necessary to state that these anecdotes have
little or no foundation on fact. They serve their turn well enough as
indicant of the type of stories of the temps jadis that remained fixed in
Madox Brown's mind.

1 845 r.lRIS 33

those of .-I dam and Eve, Harold at Hastings, and
the Spirit of Justice. Of these, the first in point of
execution was the Adam and /:Vr, which was begun
in the winter of 1842 and exhibited in 1844 at West-
minster Hall.1 It met with no success, and the
painting was destroyed in the same year; the cartoon,
houever, is still to be seen at the Westminster Tech-
nical Institute. In the following year the cartoon and
painting of Harold at Hastings and the cartoon and
water-colour sketch of the Spirit of Justice were
exhibited.

Of the three compositions the Adam and Eve is
the simplest in point of literary idea. It is evening;
a mighty wind is blowing the leaves of the garden all

1 The cartoons are thus described in the Catalogue of the Frescoes :

1844. No. 7. By Ford Madox Brown, 15 feet by 13 feet.

1 After the battle, the body of Harold was found and brought to
William the Conqueror.' — Hume.

1 William, on the day of battle, wore round his neck the principal
relics of the tubful which he had guilefully caused to be placed beneath
the table at which he had forced Harold to swear to aid him in obtaining
the crown of England.' — Augustc Thierry.

Xo. 8. Coloured sketch of the above (encaustic painting), 4 feet 4 inches
by 3 feet 9 inches.

Xo. 84. 'And they heard the voice of the Lord walking in the garden
in the cool of the day' (marginal reading, 'in the wind'). Cartoon by
Ford Madox Brown, 8 feet 8 inches by 7 feet 7 inches.

1845. Xo. 98. 'An abstract representation of Justice,' by Ford
Madox Brown.

The five figures at the top are personifications of Justice, with, on the
right, Mercy and Erudition, and on her left, Truth and Wisdom.

The two groups in the foreground are indicative of power and
weakness. An unbefriended widow is seen to appeal to Justice against
the oppression of a perverse and powerful Baron, &c. £c.

Xo. 99. A coloured sketch of ditto.

No. 10. A portion of same.

D

34 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1840-

in one direction ; a vivid streak of sunset sky divides
the gloom of the foliage, and in the foreground Adam
and Eve sit, in attitudes of intense fear, at the foot of
the Tree of Knowledge. The feeling of terror sug-
gested is almost strong enough to present some of the
mysticism of Blake.

The other two designs are much more complicated.
Writing of the Harold, ] in 1865, Madox Brown
says :

Excessive and exuberant joy is described by the old chronicles as
possessing the Norman host after the victory. This is shown
variously in the demeanour and expressions of the conquerors.
Harold was a more than usually large and athletic man, even among
Saxon heroes. Three men bear his body to the victorious Duke.
All that are left alive on the scene are Normans — no prisoners were
taken. Quarter was neither expected nor given. One ancient
knight, somewhat of the Polonius kind, with raised hand, seems to
say, ' Here indeed was a man. In my young days,' <S:c. &C. Others
seem of the same mind. One of William's attendants, of the waggish
sort, catches a silly camp-boy by the fist and exhibits its puny pro-
portions alongside of the dead Harold's hand, still with the broken
battle-axe in its iron grasp, drawing a grim smile from the conqueror.
A fair- haired Norman officer, regardless of the fact that his body is
gashed pretty freely with wounds, twists about to get a sight of
Harold. The monk, who is dressing his wounds, tired out with
much of such work, surlily bids him be quiet. Friends join hands
glad to meet again after such a day. A father supports his wounded
son. In one corner, embraced in death-grapple, lie the bodies of a
Norman and Saxon, one has stabbed the other in the back, while he
in turn has bitten his adversary's throat like a dog.

1 In 1 86 1 the smaller design for the Harold was taken in hand
by Madox Brown, colour was added, and the result rechristened
' Wilhelmus Conquistator.' The design remains materially the same.

1 845 PAJtIS 35

Head, which is just perceptible from the scene of the
battle, appears across the bay in the extivme distance. The effect
is after sunset.

The cartoon of the Spirit of [n slice represents a
widow, whose husband has been murdered by a knight,
appealing to the Spirit of Justice, who, blind and seated
on high with scales and sword, is surrounded by
reverend counsellors. The knightly murderer, in the
meanwhile, stands fully armed, and, although sur-
rounded by followers, seems to be depressed, as if
realising that neither weapons nor power avail him
in the presence in which he stands.

The cartoons quite failed to make any impression
on their exhibition, and are not even mentioned in
the report of the Royal Commissioners. To ' Grand
Style' Haydon, however, they did appeal. In his
diary ] he records : ' Passed the morning in West-
minster Hall. The only bit of fresco fit to look at is
by Ford Brown. It is a figure of Justice, and is
exquisite as far as that figure goes.' The 'Art
Journal,' too, singled out the Spirit of /us/ ice for
singularly warm praise. -

Madox Brown's own remarks upon the compe-

1 July 3. 'S45-

- At the Madox lirown sale of 1894 the cartoon of Harold was
purchased by the committee of gentlemen who had commissioned
Madox I>rown to paint for presentation to the nation a replica of his
Wyclijf on Trial. His death intervening before that picture's com-
pletion, the remainder of the sum subscribed was devoted to the
purchase of the artist's picture of Christ and Peter, and of this and
other cartoons for presentation to various Schools of Art. The Harold
is in the South London School of Art, Camberwell.

I) 2

36 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BRO\\'\ 1840-

tition are frequently interesting. I quote a passage
from one of his lectures, that on ' Style in Art ' :—

This was (as it was told) how Dyce got his employment from
the Government : ' The late Prince Consort, as President of the
Royal Commission for Decorating the Houses of Parliament, had
made overtures to Cornelius to come over and paint them. Cor-
nelius, with that scorn of littleness which is so characteristic of the
historic painter abroad, replied :

' What need have you of Cornelius to come over to paint your
walls when you have got Mr. Dyce ? ' * Mr. Dyce ! Who was Mr.
Dyce ? ' He was found to be master of the Government School of
Design at Somerset House. Hopeless of his work attracting the
English approbation of the day, he had not even taken part in the
competitions then in abeyance.

Hastily he was bidden to send in a specimen of fresco to the
third Westminster Hall Exhibition, in order to legitimatise his
employment in the Houses of Parliament.

Dyce had, at that time, just completed a fresco in the palace of
the Archbishop at Lambeth.

He hastily copied a small portion, just large enough to meet the
specified terms of the competition. Competitors were up in arms,
and went about with pocket rules. In size, however, they could
detect no flaw. In that great hall the small fresco looked in super-
ficies, like a pocket-handkerchief, but it was not too small, even by a
quarter of an inch.

It was not so big as a church door, but ' it was enough,' as
Mercutio said. Those who knew what Art was held their peace.
Babblers pronounced it quaint — it was a copy of some old work —
it was papistical — it was German — it was that most abhorrent
thing, Christian Art. How could a bishop have it in his palace?

Alas ! now the very name of Christian Art is forgotten. The
outcome of all this was the fresco of the baptism of Ethelbert in the
House of Lords — that most refined and beautiful of all the frescoes
there ; also the frescoes from the ' Mort d' Arthur,' which Dyce began
in the Queen's robing-room of the same building.

These noble works are too much overlooked, and yet these works

1 845 PARIS 37

may claim brotherhood with all that is greatest in contemporary art,
and descent direct from Raphael's own progeny of masterpieces.

The only other works of importance that Mad ox
Brown executed in Paris were the outline Sketches for
16 Designs from King Lear.

Rough and ostentatiously unfinished as they are,
there need be little hesitation in calling them one of
the most, if not the most, effective and vigorous series
of designs for any of Shakespeare's plays. Attrac-
tiveness is, of course, hardly to be expected of them,
and would certainly have militated against the reflec-
tion of the barbaric spirit in the tragedy, which is their
chief merit.

In the summer of 1844 the Madox Browns left
Paris for Kngland, with the intention of determining
whether the condition of Mrs. Brown's health would
support the climate of this country. For a time they
lived with the Bromleys, at Meopham, in Kent, and
in consequence we have this record of work done
during the stay :—

Given. — Portrait of Augustus Bromley.
Given. — Portrait of Helen Bromley.
Given. Portrait of their horse.

Madox Brown had his studio at Tudor Lodge, in
the neighbourhood of Mornington Crescent, and here
he began to make a few acquaintances amongst the
denizens of that artist-populated district. This he
owed mostly to Charles Lucy, the painter of Crom-
wellian subjects, who remained for many years on

38 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1840-

terms of the greatest intimacy with him. The almost
forgotten John Cross and the late Mr. Armitage he
had known in Paris. Tudor Lodge was a nest of
studios ; of these, F. Howard had the largest, Earl
Compton the next, and Lucy, with whom Madox
Brown worked, the next, Sir John Tenniel being next
door to them. John Marshall, the surgeon, was also
a competitor, and frequented Tudor Lodge. Amongst
these artists Madox Brown was considered as an
authority, ' as he was up in the Belgian school and
Wappers,' to quote Mr. Leighton.

At Tudor Lodge he finished the cartoon of the
Spirit of Justice, but the period was not one of very
great industry. Much of it was spent with Mrs. Madox
Brown at Meopham, and it was only when a
reawakened sense of his artistic duties galled him
that Madox Brown returned to his work in the studio,
and even there much of his time was convivially
spent. Through the introduction of one of the Tudor
Lodge congeries he contracted a certain acquaintance
with Douglas Jerrold, the Cruickshanks, and the
group of more or less humorous writers and artists
who revolved around those two centres. The society
was not, however, over-congenial to Madox Brown.
Coming directly as a foreigner into the circle, the
constant fire of puns and idiomatic quips rather dazed
than amused him. Jerrold, in particular, would seem
to have disturbed his equanimity with an inextinguish-
ably buoyant flow of talk.

1845 LONDON 39

I only remember once having heard him thoroughly extinguished
[he was accustomed to say], and that was when he was with myself
and someone else— I can't remember who it was— in a sort of low eating-
house or beerhouse, or something of the sort. He was in particular
spirits, and talking away more brilliantly than ever, so that it was quite
impossible for anyone else to get a word in, when, all of a sudden, a
drunken woman, who had been asleep with her head on the table,
looked up full in his face, in a mu/./v, beery sort of way, and said :
' You arc a sanguinary fool,' and it so completely flabbergasted Jerrold
that he never spoke another word in that place.

This more or less pleasant life was, however, soon
interrupted in its course. The rapidly failing- health
of Mrs. Maclox Brown made the prospect of wintering
in K upland an almost fatal one, and with that in view
Madox Brown, his wife and child, set out for Rome.
At that time the advantages "of the Riviera and the
Maritime Alps were comparatively unknown in
Kngland. Rome, Italy, and the warmth of the South
were deemed synonymous terms of health for the
sufferer from pulmonary diseases. The Eternal City,'
moreover, held out incomparable attractions to the
artist. I have in my possession the passport which
Madox Brown took out at the Belgian Legation in
London. As far as regards its description of his
person, it is somewhat vaguely and inaccurately filled
in. The sigualcwcnt reads as follows : ' M. Ford
Madox Brown, ne et domicilie en Angleterre, age de
24 ans. Ckeveux, chatains ; Jront, ordinaire1 ; ucz,
moyen ; wciiton, rond ; visage, ovale ; harbe, blonde;
et taillc, i m. 71 c.m.'

They left London on August 27, and, travelling

40 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1X40-

in their own carriage by way of Brussels, Aix, the
Rhine, Bale, Moclena, Bologna, and Florence, reached
Rome at the end of the following month.

In its influence on Madox Brown's art the other-
wise uneventful journey was, of course, of the first
importance. I quote a letter addressed by him to a
friend who asked his advice as to what pictures
should have particular attention accorded to them
during an Italian tour. Written just twenty years
later than the year under consideration, it may be
regarded as the crystallisation of the artist's thoughts
upon the subject, though the haste with which it is
written deprives it of much of the weight that would
have otherwise attached to it :—

To Mr. George Rae.

January 3, 1865.

As you say, I fear there is no chance at all of my meeting you in
Italy this time, with all this coming on, but wish there was, I should
enjoy it much. It is a long time since I was in Italy, and so much so
that my memory could scarce be of much use to you in comparison
with the many valuable books that have been written of late on the
subject. Murray's eternal handbook, the Kugler translation, is still
as valuable as ever, and just recently a new history has appeared
which is said to be very excellent, it is by two men, an Englishman
named Crowe and an Italian whose name I forget, but it is something
like Crowe and Caralcanti,1 as far as I remember and any bookseller
could tell what it meant. I have written to ask if Mr. Rossetti might
have any information likely to interest you.

Venice, no doubt, is the great place for pictures (in one sense), but
perhaps you will not have time for that this time, and / have never
been there. After a lapse of eighteen (really twenty or nineteen)

1 Cavalcaselle.

1 845 ROME 41

years, what remains strongest printed in my mind are the wall-paint-
ings of Giotto wherever they are to be found ////-restored, the frescoes
of Masaccio, in the Brancacci Chapel at Florence ; the Museum at
Bale, in Switzerland, where some of the very finest of Holbein's paint-
ings are to be seen ; the Last Supper, and other works of Leonardo,
at Milan, and also some wonderful heads by his pupil Luini, in which
they take great pride there.

The paintings of Fra Angelico, executed on the walls of his con-
vent in Florence; the admirable pictures of almost every school in
the Pitti Palace there; of course the great works of Rafael and Michael
!o in Rome, and lastly, but not least, all the pictures by Titian
that can be seen everywhere.

The mighty works of Orcagna in the Camposanto at Pisa, almost
as early in date as (iiotto's, are also well worth going out of your
way to see, though I have never myself seen them, except from photos,
and now Crowe c^ Co. assert that they are not by Orcagna, which
puts \Villiam Rossetti in a rage.

Almost the first effect of the si^ht of the over-
whelming display of the fruits of Italian religious

sentiment and Italian glorification of Italian pods,
was a desire to emulate these works, and to produce
a masterpiece illustrative of the glories of Kurdish
sentiment and English poetry.

Thus arose, the conception of the triptych which
ultimately took the form of the gigantic picture of
Chaucer at the Court of J^d^ard ///. This work
was to have occupied the central compartment, the'
lateral ones being filled with portraits of Shakespeare
and Byron — the whole forming an apotheosis of
English poetry.

That Madox Brown had in his mind some idea of
rivalling Italian works of a similar nature is, I think,

42 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1840-

sufficiently proved by the following passage, which I
quote in lieu of drawing upon my personal remem-
brance of his obiter dicta : —

The sketch for this picture was painted, and the picture itself
commenced, in the year 1845, at Rome. Circumstances, however,
which required my immediate return home, caused me to abandon
that first beginning. This present work was begun in London in
1847, and finished early in 1851. During this interval, however,
the pictures of Wickliff, King Lear, the Infant's Repast, Shake-
speare, Windermere, and other works not here exhibited, were
painted. As the sketch shows, the picture was originally designed as
a triptych, figures of other great English poets occupying the wings.
But this idea was conceived abroad at a time when I had little
opportunity of knowing the march of literary events at home. On
my coming to England, I soon found that the illustrious in poetry
were not all among the dead, and to avoid what must either have
remained incomplete, or have appeared pretentious criticism, I gave
up the idea indicated in the side compartments. The picture as it
now stands might be termed the First, or, First Fruits, of English
Poetry. Chaucer, along with Dante, is one of the only two supremely
great mediaeval poets who have come down to us, at least by name.
But Chaucer is at the same time as much a perfect English poet — I
am almost tempted to say a modern English poet — as any of the pre-
sent day. Spelling, and a few of the minor proprieties apart, after a
lapse of five hundred years, his delicate sense of naturalistic beauty
and his practical turn of thought, quite at variance with the iron
grasp of realism, the deep-toned passionate mysticism, and super-
sensual grace of the great Italian, comes home to us as naturally as
the last volume we hail with delight from the press.1

The picture itself, as Madox Brown says, although
commenced at Rome, was not finished there. At his
setting out he intended to establish himself there
for some little time, after the fashion of the more or

1 From the Catalogue of the Piccadilly Exhibition, 1865.

1845 ROM/: 43

less shifting- population of artists of all nations that
from time immemorial has resided in that city. Cir-
cumstances, however, in the shape of a sudden decline
in the state of his wife's health intervened, and in
May of the next year he returned to Kngland.

His achievements in art during that time were
limited to commencing the Chaucer, and the paint-
ing of the portraits of his wife and infant daughter
Lucy. Of another picture, called the Scrap/is
}}\itch> which he carried to Rome with him, I have
been able to discover little more than that it was a
specimen of what he called his foreign or pre-English
style.1

Thus it will be felt that however important the
ultimate result of his Italian voyage might be, the
immediate outcome- was somewhat meagre.

An interesting incident during its course was his
introduction to the survivors of the German Pre-
Raphaelite Brethren. Other than in name;, this
body had little affinity, elective or spiritual, with the
Brethren of whom so much has been heard in this
country. Founded in the year 1810 by the German
painters Cornelius and Overbeck, its adherents speedily
became numerous in Rome, and eventually carried
the propaganda of the once famous ' Catholic Art ' into
almost every country in which the effects of art move-

1 I learn from Mr. Holman Hunt, who possesses a copy of the picture
executed by I). G. Rossetti, that the principal characteristic of the work
was its 'German' balance of composition.

44 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1840-

ments are felt ; but it may be doubted whether its
immediate causes were more essentially artistic than
religious.

In its own way, and for many of the artists who
adhered to it, it was the outcome of a spirit of revolt
against their national schools ; but in the case of
Overbeck it was more emphatically a protest against
the prevailing irreligion of the art and artists of the
day. For him the painters who painted before
Raphael were ascetic religious, whose art, divinely
inspired, was given to the decoration of their monastic
cells, and the body whom Overbeck and Cornelius
gathered round them resolved to conform to monastic
customs, hiring a palace for that purpose, and clothing
themselves in religious garb — long robes with girdles
of rope. For a time they plied their art with the full
fervour of Catholic revivalists ; but at the date of
Madox Brown's visit to Rome the Brethren, as such,
seemed to have died out.

His description of a visit to the studios of Over-
beck and Cornelius I am enabled, by the courtesy of
Mr. Ouilter, to quote.

From the ' Universal Review.'

May 1888.

Overbeck I visited first. No introductions were necessary in
Rome at that time. I was very young — not, I believe, above two
or three-and-twenty. Overbeck was in a small studio with some
four or five visitors. He was habited in a black velvet dressing-
gown down to the ground, corded round the waist ; on his head a

i845 ROME 45

\vlvet cap, furred, which allowed his grey curling locks to stray on
his shoulders. He l>oiv exactly the appearance of some figure of the
fifteenth century. When he spoke to me it was with the humility of
a saint. Being so young at the time I noticed this the more. He
had some five or six cartoons on view, all of the same size, about
24 inches by 30, all sacred subjects. I noted that where any
naked flesh was shown it looked exactly like wooden dolls' or lay-
figures'. I heard him explain that he never drew these parts from
nature, on the principle of avoiding the sensuous in religious art.
In spite of this, nevertheless, the sentiment — as depicted in the
faces was so vivid, so unlike most other art, that one felt a dis-
inclination to go away. One could not see enough of it. To-day,
more than forty years afterwards, when coming suddenly on one of
these designs in a print-shop window, I again experienced the same
sensation. Cornelius was different : short, with red hair and keen
under. When I called at his studio he was showing his large
cartoon of Death on t/ic /We /l*>>->, . As this large canvas was
between him and the door I suppose I did not hear his summons to
enter, for he came out sharply, and said petulantly, 'Mais, eiifrez
done.'

He was explaining his great work to some ladies, with a stick in
his hand and an old brown paletot as painting-coat. The studio was
a waste, as painting-rooms were in those days, when bnc-a-bnu,
Oriental rugs, or armour were not much thought of.

He was explaining his picture exactly as a showman would, and I
have remembered the lesson since. Some twenty years ago I saw
this cartoon again in London, and it produced on me exactly the
same effect it did at first. Full of action and strange character, it was
everything reverse of that dreadful commonplace into which Art on
the Continent seems to be hurrying back.

But Cornelius was no commonplace being ; with his small fiery
eyes and his lump on his cheek, like David's, he was the man of
genius, the man of the unexpected emphatically.

Cornelius's dressing-gown, of which Madox Brown
speaks, was probably a survival of the monastic robe
above mentioned.

46 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1840-45

In the meantime the health of Mrs. Madox Brown
began to show more and more signs of a fatal decay,
and, as much in accordance with her desire to die in
her native land as in any hope of prolonging her life,
Madox Brown resolved to return to England by the
shortest available route.

They left Rome on May 9, and, travelling by way
of Civita Vecchia, took ship from Leghorn to Mar- f
seilles.

In the transit from Leghorn they met with a
furious storm, which nearly sent the ship to the bottom
and materially delayed their passage. From Mar-
seilles they travelled post to Paris, but whilst crossing
the Boulevard des Italiens, Mrs. Madox Brown seemed
to fall asleep in the carriage, with her head on her
husband's shoulder, and, on alighting at their hotel,
was found to be dead. Her body was conveyed to
England and buried in Highgate Cemetery.

The blow was a terrible one to Madox Brown.
For the remainder of the year he abandoned his work,
and I am inclined to ascribe to the effects of the loss
the appearance of age and misanthropy which many of
his friends considered as characteristic of him at that
period and for several years after.

47

CHAPTER IV

PRINCIPALLY IN CLIPSTONE STKKI I
1846-1849

Unsettled life— Ideas of settling in Paris— Casey— Madox Brown take-.
up his work again— Moves to Clipstone Street— Chaucer— IVickliffc
Reading his Translation of the liiblc—\\. attracts the attention of
D. G. Rossetti— Rossetti's letter— Its reception— Rossetti becomes
.Madox Browns pupil — His dislike of routine work and defection —
Personal relations of the two artists Rossetti's judgment of Madox
Brown's criticisms— Madox Brown's of Rossetti's \Y. M. Rossetti's
recollections of Madox Brown at that date The Rossetti family —
Madox Brown's friends Mr. Holman Hunt — Cordelia at the Bed-
side of Lear — The Infant's Repast and smaller works — Portrait of
Shakespeare Madox Brown's earnings up to this date — Madox
Brown's second marriage Mrs. Madox Brown — The Pre-Raphaelite
Brotherhood— Madox Brown's connection with it — Madox Brown's
view— Mr. Holman Hunts— Mr. F. G. Stephens^ Mr. \V. M.
Rossetti — Disagreement of these authorities.

the time immediately succeeding- his wife's
death Madox Brown lived a somewhat unsettled life,
moving from the house of his uncle Madox to lodgings
which he frequently changed. His work in conse-
quence suffered materially.

It is certain that he still entertained ideas of
returning to the Continent. In 1847 Casey, in writing"
to him, speaks of a journey to Italy as a definite plan,
and in 1848 of taking apartments for him in Paris, in

48 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1846-

the Faubourg Broussel ; but both designs for one
reason or another were abandoned. In the meanwhile
the little coterie of artists that had drawn his thoughts
towards Paris was breaking up. De Grouckel, him-
self in Brussels, chronicles the departure of one of
the circle to Geneva, and of the death of another,
and perhaps the best beloved, James, he writes a
pathetic and somewhat minute account. Later, newly
formed and more congenial connections tied Madox 1
Brown to his native land.

In 1846, Madox Brown moved from Meopham to j
Southend, Southend to Bromley, thence to Cheapside, j
and it was not until the beginning of 1847 tnat ne
settled down in Kensington and began to set earnestly
to work. To quote Casey, who thenceforth sinks
into the character of a warm friend, outre Manche : —

Casey to Ford Madox Brown.

January 1847.

Je suis enchante de savoir que tu t'occupes, e'est le meilleur
remede aux tristes idees — le travail en detruit le mauvais effet et laisse
subsider les souvenirs. Aliens, mon vieux Fordy, du courage et ne
fais pas comme moi ; travaille ferme ; quand je ne suis pas en train
de peindre je me suis mis depuis quelques jours a dessiner 1'ecorche',
pour tacher de ne pas rester sans rien faire — et c.a ne peut que me
faire du bien.

The products of this renewed activity were the
cartoon of Oure Ladye of Good Children {Saturday
Night\ and a duplicate of the Portrait of Mr.
Bamford, the original of which had been the only
work of the year 1 846.

1849 PRINCIPALLY IN CLIPSTONE STREET 49

The Portrait is of interest historically, as being one
of the works by which Madox Brown's claim to be con-
sidered the Father of Pre-Raphaelitism must stand or
fall. It may also be recorded that along with On re
Ladyc it was rejected by the Trafalgar Square
authorities in 1847.

Towards the end of the year Madox Brown moved
to 2O-i- Clipstone Street, where he occupied a studio
in a range of stabling, which had been converted to
suit this purpose. Hither his household furniture, lay
figures, and the like were sent by Casey from Paris,
where they had remained. Thus in possession of his
impedimenta^ he considered himself sufficiently settled
in life to recommence more formidable works. The
Chaucer at the Court of Edward III. was once more
taken in hand, and in addition to it a new picture,
W'icklijj'e Reading his Translation of the JUble to
John of (taunt. It was begun in November of 1847
and finished in March, and as such may be said to
have been the first of his pictures in his ' English
style ' to see completion.

It is memorable in another way ; for, being ex-
hibited in the Free Exhibition ] it drew from D. G.

1 This was an exhibition which at different places and under different
names fulfilled the somewhat reasonable function of letting wall-spaces to
any artist who liked to rent them, admission being nominally free. In
this case the exhibition was held at Hyde Park Corner— in the building
celebrated as having seen the exhibition of the Chinese junk and of other
Chinese works of art. I quote the criticism of the Athemcum on the
picture of Wickliffe. Of the few papers that noticed the picture I
have selected this one. Its successive notices of Madox Brown's pictures

50 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1846-

Rossetti the letter which inaugurated the friendship
of the two artists.

The circumstances of their actual coming together
are so well known as to make recapitulation an almost
unnecessary task, but for the sake of continuity I pro-
pose briefly to state them.

By permission of Mr. W. M. Rossetti I am
enabled to quote the letter which Rossetti addressed
to Madox Brown from 50 Charlotte Street, Portland
Place.

D. G. Rossetti to Ford Madox Broivn.

March.

SIR, — I am a student in the Antique School of the Royal
Academy. Since the first time I ever went to an exhibition (which

show in an interesting way the gradual decline of esteem in which
he was held, as, little by little, it was realised that he had identified
himself with the P.R.B.

' One of the very few works of high excellence of which the collection
can boast is Mr. Ford Madox Brown's First Translation of the Bible
into English, obviously designed with a view to its execution in fresco.
There is so much merit in the whole composition as to excuse in some
degree a very badly contrived situation, in which the painter has supposed
Wickliffe reading his translation of the Scriptures to his protector John of
Gaunt, in the presence of Chaucer and Gower and his retainers. The
merits of the picture are, however, much more in the manner than the
matter — the painters views, as before said, having been directed to a
peculiar mode of execution. His judgment has been shown in having
arranged much that can be done in a material where effect is to be
attained rather by opposition of colour than strong contrasts of light and
shade, or the delicate gradations of half tint. To his intention, realised
in figures of half the natural size, we can well predict success, presuming
that the artist, in revision of his work, will be induced to make some
abatements of punctilious accuracy in the costumes — unfitted to the
severity of historical treatment — in certain particulars which are the
accidents of a bygone time, and when so much insisted on, subject their
author to the imputation of pedantry.'— A thenccum, September 9, 1848.

1 849 PRINCIPALLY IN CLIP STONE STREET 51

was several years ago, and when I saw a picture of yours from
Byron's ' Giaour ') I have always listened with avidity if your name
happened to be mentioned, and rushed first of all to your number in
the Catalogues. The Parisina, the study in the manner of the early
masters, Our Lady of Saturday Mg/if, and the glorious works you
have exhibited, have successively raised my admiration and kept me
standing in the same spot for fabulous lengths of time. The outline
from your Abstract of Representation of Justice which appeared in
one of the illustrated papers, constitutes, together with an engraving
after that great painter Von Hoist, the sole pictorial adornment of my
room. And as for the Mury Qne?n of Scots, if ever I do anything
in the art it will certainly be attributable in a great degree to the
constant study of that work. It is not, therefore, to be wondered at
if, wishing to obtain some knowledge of colour (which I have as yet
scarcely attempted), the hope suggests itself that you may probably
admit pupils to profit by your invaluable assistance. If, such being
the case, you would do me the honour to inform me what your terms
would be for six months' instruction, I feel convinced that I should
have some chance in the art.

I remain, Sir,

Very truly yours,

(i.M'.KIKI. (\ RoSSK II I.

Madox Brown's reception of the letter was at first
uncertain. At that date he had received little — one
may say no — appreciation from any quarter. His
pictures had experienced persistent rejection at the
hands of the Academicians, and the semi-official art
critics of the day had as consistently ignored his
works; at the same time the morbidness which not
infrequently casts a shadow on the mind of the ignon-d
innovator was in his case accentuated by domestic
misfortune, and by brooding amongst unsympathetic
surroundings. Thus he was at first inclined to regard
the letter, with its effusive and unbridled praise, as the

E 2

52 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1846-

elaborate impertinence of an Academy student. In
rather a dubious frame of mind he set out imme-
diately for the address named at the head of the
letter, and, sending up his name by the servant
who opened the door, he announced his preference
for awaiting his unknown correspondent in the hall
rather than in a room. There, on descending the
stairs, Rossetti found him with the letter open in his
hand, and the curt greeting :

' What does this mean ? '

His dubiousness of aspect was, however, speedily
dispelled by the reception he met with, and a
memorable friendship at once began.

Rossetti immediately entered Madox Brown's
studio, but he did not set very seriously to work upon
the monotonous routine prescribed for him during
his apprenticeship. Rossetti was not formed for
a diligent disciple. Madox Brown set him to work
upon the delineating of various pieces of still-life
and at copying pictures. A drawing by him of
medicine-bottles and the like was sold at the Madox
Brown sale of 1894, and his copy of Madox Brown's
picture, the Seraph 's Watch, is now in the posses-
sion-of Mr. Holman Hunt.

What Madox Brown prescribed for him was just
such a routine as his own experience and his own
theories had made him consider necessary, and Ros-
setti, whose mind was running upon historical pictures,
found the work irksome and finally gave it up.

1 849 PRINCIPALLY IN CLIPSTOXE STREET 53

The two artists, however, remained firm friends
throughout their lives. Their relations one with
another are summed up thus in a note accorded me
by Mr. W. M. Rossetti : —

My brother, and he was not alone among painters in his opinion,
considered that Brown was the best of all men with whom to take
counsel as to the treatment and details of a picture. Brown's advice
in such matters was excellently practical, to the point, and free from
crotchets. He saw why something or other was faulty, and what
should be done to remedy it; explained himself fairly and clearly,
and was ready to take any amount of friendly pains to set or keep a
brother painter in the right way.

On the other hand, writing after Rossetti's death,
Madox Brown says : —

' I find now what I was scarcely conscious of
before, that I used to paint always with a vague
idea of his approbation in the distance.' Their per-
sonal relations were singularly intimate, a fact which
will appear very evidently in these pa^vs. For the mo-
ment I quote Mr. W. M. Rossetti's account of Madox
Brown as he appeared to the brothers at that date : —

Probably I saw him first in our own house, 50 Charlotte Street,
Portland Place, but more particularly recollect one or two afternoons
when I was present with my brother at Brown's studio in Clipstone
Street, in the spring or summer of 1848. On one of these occasions
I, for the first time, met Mr. Cave Thomas. Brown spoke 1'rench
and Italian with great fluency, and something of Flemish, and had
more of the tone and associations of a foreign than an English
painter ; his Knglish talk, however, was thoroughly native, not inter-
larded with foreign words or idioms. . . . His uniform intonation
and slow utterance were also a subject of remark, these bring the more
noticeable as his discourse was full of strong opinions, telling anec-
dote, and lively point. He was indeed a very amusing and, when he

54 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1846-

liked, an excellent talker, having a large range of subject-matter ; he
was also a good narrator, and would tell you the story of a novel
with great precision and at ample length.

Fundamentally widely different in character and
temperament, Madox Brown and Rossetti found a
common ground of attraction in their admiration for
all and every branch of art,1 and their influence, the
one on the other, was the cause of the widening of the
interests of each. The deeply poetic and impulsive
side of Rossetti's character infused into Madox Brown's
more philosophic trend of thought a certain savour of
its own, whilst Madox Brown's more widely practical
sympathies tended to sober some of Rossetti's Bohe-
mian ism.

During their thirty years' intimacy there were
occasional quarrels, but they were no more than
those fallings-out of friends which are the renewing
of love. ' I recollect that my brother once said to
me — it may have been in 1855 — " By far the best
man that I know — the really good man — is Brown,"
and I think he would have said much the same to
the last hour of his life.' I quote again from W. M.
Rossetti.

Madox Brown's connection with the Rossetti family
was characterised by the same unbroken ness of cor-
diality. ' The family consisted of father, mother, two
sisters, and (Gabriel's) brother, myself. We all saw

1 D. (i. R., it must be confessed, had no affection for music, to
which art, on the other hand, Madox Brown was unshakable in his
devotion.

1849 PRINCIPALLY IN CLIPSTONE STREET 55

something of Brown from the spring of 1848, and all
liked him extremely. His pleasant, open manner,
equally manly and quiet, and his generous kindness,
looking after Dante's studies, impressed us all.'

That Madox Brown was equally impressed by the
diversely and strikingly gifted members of the family,
it is hardly necessary to add. They opened up an
entirely new field of ideas and thoughts, and at the
same time extended the restricted limits of his acquaint-
anceship.

Apart from the more or less congenial society of
relations and connections, this had hitherto consisted
of scarcely more than two other life-long friends, who
both survive him — Mr. Cave Thomas and Mr. Lowes
Dickinson, artists whose names will occur more than
once in the ensuing pages.

Through the medium of Rossetti, Madox Brown
became acquainted with the members of the younger
school who were to become famous as the- Pre-
Raphaelite Brethren. The first of these, apart from
\\ . M. Rossetti, with whom he came in contact was
Mr. Holman Hunt, who subsequently became almost
as warm a friend as Rossetti.

In the meanwhile — during the winter 1848—49 —
Maclox Brown was painting his picture of Cordelia
at the ttcdsidc of Lear. Of it in 1865 he said that
he had always considered it as one of his chief works ;
and, although subsequent developments have perhaps
diminished its relative consequence, it must still be

56 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1846-

conceded a place amongst his pictures of primary
importance. The moment chosen for portrayal is
the awakening scene of Act IV. I quote here,
as elsewhere where practicable, Madox Brown's own
description of the picture : —

Once possessed of power, the true character of the elder sisters
discloses itself, and Lear, ill-used, aged, and helpless, goes mad.
Cordelia, now Queen of France, returns with an army to rescue him.
Found wildly running about the beach at Dover, he is secured, put
to sleep with opiates, and the physician, who is about to wake him
by means of music, has predicted that his reason will return with
consciousness. Cordelia, at the foot of the bed, awaits anxiously the
effect of her presence on him, and utters the touching soliloquy
beginning—

' Had you not been their father, these white flakes
Had challenged pity of them.'

Now would she recall the moment when honesty, stiffened to pride,
glued to her lips the soft words of flattery expected by the old man,
and perhaps after all his due, from her who was the best beloved of
his three. So virtue, too, has its shadowed side, pride — ruining
itself and others. Having its origin in the old ballad, Shakespeare's
' King Lear' is Roman-pagan-British nominally ; mediaeval by external
customs and habits, and again, in a marked degree, savage and
remote by the moral side. With a fair excuse it might be treated in
Roman-British costume, but then clashing with the mediaeval institu-
tions and habits introduced, or as purely mediaeval. But I hu\v
rather chosen to be in harmony with the mental characteristics of
Shakespeare's work, and have therefore adopted the costume preva-
lent in Europe about the sixth century, when paganism was still rife,
and deeds were at their darkest. The piece of Bayeux tapestry
introduced behind King Lear is strictly an anachronism, but the
costume applies in this instance, and the young men gaily riding
with hawk and hound contrast pathetically with the stricken old
man. The poor fool who got hanged for too well loving his master,
looks on with watery eyes. The Duke of Kent, who, though

1 849 PRINCIPALLY IN CLIPSTONE STREET 57

banished, disguised himself in order to remain with the king, is seen
next the fool, having a wig on to alter his appearance. The physician,
with his conjuring book, was magician also in those days.

Another picture of the same date, executed, indeed,
concurrently with the. Lear, is the Infanf s Repast,
representing a child supping, and an anxiously 'jealous
doggie.' As far as subject is concerned it may be
called a precursor of the Dog and Child picture of
the late Burton Barber and his school, but its treat-
ment is of course quite different.

These two were the important pictures painted
during 1849, but the number of smaller works attest
the fact that Madox Brown was by no means idle.
He executed a duplicate' of the. Scrap/is ll'atch,
painted portraits of his daughter Lucy and of Thomas
Seddon, began the composition with the curious name
of I>cauty before she became acquainted with the Jlcast,
and painted the I'icw from Shorn Ridgeway as a
study for the background of the Chaucer upon which
he was still engaged.

A work of more interest than either of the latter
is the portrait of U'illiam. Shakespeare, 'carefully col-
lated from the different known portraits, and more
than any other from the bust at Stratford. The pic-
ture is the attempt to supply the want of a credible
likeness of our national poet, as a historian recasts
some tale told long since in many fragments by old
chroniclers.' The method pursued in the work was
that of selecting those traits in which either the most

58 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1846-

credibly authentic portraits agreed, or which seemed
most probably true to nature.

A considerable amount of care and foresight were
bestowed upon it, both as a collation and as a work
of art, and as the latter it is eminently satisfactory.
Upon the verisimilitude of the likeness, in the absence
of further references than are given or discoverable,
it would be over-rash to prefer a judgment.

. This picture, with the journeys its execution en-
tailed, occupied the latter portion of the year 1849, and
was not finished until January of the year following.

It had been commissioned for reproduction by the
firm of Dickinson Brothers, and the sum of 5O/. paid
for it was the highest received up to that date by its
artist for any work. Indeed, Madox Brown's whole
makings until he reached the age of thirty scarcely
totalled more than 2OO/.

Viewed in this light, his devotion to a new phase
of art which he had ample reason for knowing was
unpopular, seems none the less praiseworthy. His
small private means had been diminished by the
costly travelling entailed by his first wife's illness,
but a certain dogged determination, superadded to
the fervency and fire of the explorer of new regions,
upheld him in his perseverance.

During this year occurred two circumstances of
widely divergent, but, personally, almost equally im-
portant, natures. I refer to his second marriage, and
the rise of the society known as the Pre-Raphaelite

1 849 PRINCIPALLY IX CLIPSTONE STREET 59

Brotherhood. The exact date of the birth of the
society is, I believe, uncertain ; Mr. \Y. M. Rossetti,
who, at that time, was the official chronicler of the
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, assigns to it September
1848 as a natal month. Madox Brown himself set it
clown as having seen the light during the winter 1848-49.

To dismiss first, however, the matter calling for
the fewest words, I will briefly narrate the circumstances
connected with his marriage. During a visit in con-
nection with the portrait of Shakespeare to Stratford-
011- Avon, he became acquainted and fell in love with a
young girl of the name of Kmma Mill, then aged only
fifteen. She was the daughter of a Herefordshire
farmer who, whether owing to the action of the Corn
Laws or to less remote circumstances, had so involved
his estate, that when suddenly carried off by apoplexy,
he left his widow with little more means of subsist-
ence than a Chancery suit, which remains to this day
unresolved.

In spite of her lack of means, Mrs. Hill regarded
Madox Brown's suit with disfavour, laying almost
more stress on the disreputability of his profession
than on her daughter's early age or his smallness of
fortune. Determination on the daughter's side led
to the inevitable harshness and the almost equally
inevitable elopement. After a honeymoon spent at
Peg well Bay, Madox Brown settled down with his wife
in a tiny house at 1 lampstead. Here the not ver\
placable Mrs. Hill eventually joined them.

60 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1846-

For two or three years Madox Brown kept his
marriage a secret from all but his .most intimate friends.
This was as much owing to the want of female society
amongst his friends as to his desire to educate his wife.
As may be imagined, her early days spent in a farm-
house atmosphere had endowed her with few accom-
plishments and very little savoir faire. One of her
experiences, however, that of having, while yet in her
cradle days, been nursed by a ghost, was probably
unique.

For some years afterwards Madox Brown's over-
night letters from his studio at Newman Street to his
wife at Hampstead are postscript : * Your last letter
was a great improvement on the one before.' Occa-
sionally they contain lectures on the sums found to be
owing to the local tradesmen, whom Madox Brown
paid on his way to catch the London 'bus.

These occasional discussions as to the price of
fish apart (the purveyor of fish seems to have
been a particular offender), Madox Brown's marriage
may be said to have been fortunate. Mrs. Madox
Brown was personally attractive, and her extreme
patience made her an excellent sitter, to both of
which claims her numerous portraits in her husband's
pictures from Lear and Cordelia to Romeo and Juliet
do ample justice.

Her sweetness of temper enabled her to bear with
equanimity Madox Brown's arbitrary dispensations in
household matters, though she was not without the spirit

1 849 PRINCIPALLY IN CLIP STONE STREET 61

necessary to bring him to his knees when his inter-
medcllings passed beyond the bounds of reason into
the domains of the lady of the house. As a hostess
in later days she was celebrated — perhaps unrivalled.

MRS. MADOX BROWN, 1848.'

During the year 1849 Madox Brown's environ-
ment at the studio was by no means so tranquil. It
was, as I have already said, the year succeeding that

1 From the original in possession of Mr. Fairfax Murray.

62 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1846-

which had seen the formation of the Pre-Raphaelite
Brethren ; and, although never officially attached to
them, his intimate connection with the individual
members of the body, and the weight of his consider-
ably greater practical experience and se veral years of
seniority, made him, to a certain extent, a prominent
figure of the movement. At that elate, although his
pictures did not display all the qualities that the Pre-
Raphaelite Brotherhood was formed to propagandise,
his sympathies with the cause and its upholders were
of the most lively character.

At the same time, though then no more than
twenty-eight years of age, the buoyancy of the younger
men was a thing he had lived through. His years sat
perhaps more heavily on him then than they did in later
days, a fact to which he repeatedly refers in his letters
of twenty to thirty years later. The following pas-
sage, written a couple of years later by Mr. Lowes
Dickinson, then in Rome, contains a reminiscence of
Madox Brown's studio in those days : —

Lou-es Dickinson to Ford Madox Broi^n.

1851.

Think of me when all your dear old faces are met together to
canvass the exhibition, when the P.R.B.'s are all talking at once,
when you and old Thomas are quietly laughing and smoking, and
Lucy at the door, where he has been trying to get home for an hour.
In-fore this reaches you, I trust you will have begun to reap the
harvest of your fame on the walls of the Academy. Robert writes
me word that your work ! is really 'gorgeous and splendid,' and says

1 The C/iaucer.

1 849 PRINCIPALLY IN CLIPSTONE STREET 63

that he makes use of such terms advisedly, although at the same
time he has not been silent upon any of its shortcomings. As these,
however, are comparatively very trifling, and have only resulted from
the limited time allowed for your labour, I can quite believe that the
picture must tell, as he says, 'as a grand and successful flight of
British art.' I cannot grasp your hand with the warmth of delighted
friendship, but, believe me, I am very happy and very proud of you,
perhaps a little vain at having such a friend.

Before dismissing the subject of Madox Brown's
personal relations with the founders of the cult, I will
cite the following passage from the artist's dictation
to myself: —

Somewhere about then — I dare say it was in '48, as you say
Rossetti came to me laughing, or at least more or less joking, about
some discovery of Hunt's. It turned out that they were the repro-
ductions of Orcagna's frescoes at Pisa —though, by the way, they say
they're not by Orcagna now. I told him it was all nonsense to laugh
at them, they were the finest things in the world, and he'd far better
go and look at them again ; and, of course, he said just what I did
after he'd thought about it.

As to the name Pre-Raphaelite, when they began talking about
the early Italian masters, I naturally told them of the derma n
I'.R.'s,1 and either it pleased them or not, I don't know, but they
took it.'2 I don't know, for one thing, whether they ever asked me to
become a P.R.B. ; I suppose they did ; but I never would have to
do with societies — they're bound to end in cliquishness ; besides, I
was a good deal older than they were.

Of course it was Rossetti who kept things going by his talking, or
it wouldn't have lasted as long as it did, and really he talked them
into founding it.

1 The name at that time was fairly familiar to the art world.

- Madox Urowivs letter of May 1X51, which will be found under that
date, gives a more detailed account of the way in which that name was
borne. Cf. also Holman Hunt in the Contemporary.

64 LIFE OF FORD MAD OX BROWN 1846-

The fact that these were the last comprehensible
words that the present writer heard Madox Brown
utter, whilst adding to their personal interest, may
perhaps rather detract from their absolute reliability ;
in the main, however, they agree with his representa-
tion of the facts at a time when memory was less of a
labour to him.

To Mr. Holman Hunt I am indebted for the
following account of the rnatter, which forms, to a
certain extent, the complement of what is set out
above : —

The Pre-Raphaelites, although admiring the genius
displayed in the works of Madox Brown, did not ask
or desire him to become a member of the P.R.B.,
although, almost entirely owing to the influence
of Rossetti, an invitation was framed but never
delivered. Their reasons were : ( i ) That he was
rather too old to sympathise entirely with a movement
that was a little boyish in tone ; (2) that although
his works showed great dramatic power, they had
too much of the grimly grotesque to render him an
ally likely to do service with the general public ;
and (3) that his works had none of the minute
rendering of natural objects that the P.R.'s, as
young men, had determined should distinguish their
works.

It is, of course, a difficult matter to be certain as to
what were the actual facts of the case, but I am in-
clined to agree with Mr. Hunt, that Madox Brown

1849 PRINCIPALLY IN CLIPSTONE STREET 65

was never asked to become a P. R. B. I do not think
that it was until quite lately that Madox Brown was
regarded by members of the brotherhood other than
the Rossettis as being intimately connected with the
movement. In his ' Holman Hunt — a Memoir,' written
in 1860, Mr. Stephens, in dealing with the movement,
seems to regard Madox Brown as being an outsider.
' The names of men of sterling merit in art in this
country at that time were Turner, Mulready, Maclise,
Creswick, Egg, Herbert, Dyce, Anthony, and Ford
Madox Brown,' &c. On the other hand, in his ' Port-
folio ' monograph devoted to Rossetti ( 1 893), that writer
says : ' Naturally enough, Brown was solicited to
become a brother, but he, chiefly because of a crude
principle which for a time was adopted by the other
painters, declined to join the body. This principle
was to the effect that when a member found a model
whose aspect answered his idea of the subject required,
that model should be painted exactly, so to say, hair
for hair.'

On the other hand, again, Mr. William Kossetti
denies that such a principle was ever insisted upon by
the P.R.B., and cites the fact that Millais, in his portrait
of Rossetti in Lorenzo and Isabella, represents him as
being fair-haired, when, as a matter of fact, his hair was
almost absolutely black. Rossetti of course did the
same in his portrait of Christina Rossetti as the Virgin
Mary.

Thus, in these later days, the one fact of which

66 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

one can be absolutely certain is that Madox Brown
was never officially a member of the brotherhood,
and that his actual connection with it was regulated
by the degree of his intimacies with the various
members.

'

\

PORTRAIT OF MADOX BROWN AT THE AGE OF TWENTY-NINE

(From original in possession of W. M. Rossetti.)

1850-51 6;

CHAPTER V

N K W.MAX STRI-: II
1850 1851

Work during 1850— Exhibitions — The policy of decentralisation — Life at
the studio— Mr. Arthur Hughes's introduction to Madox Brown—
.Maclox Brown's gloom of mind — Chaucer at the Court of Edward
III. — Working day and night to finish it — Letters to Mr. Lowes
Dickinson about the progress of the picture— And its treatment by
R. A.— About other artists— Thomas Seddon — Fenton— Rossetti —
His 'perfectly divine' work — Holman Hunt — Millais — The Press and
the I'. R. works —Madox Brown's pronunciation upon them — Mulready,
Maclise, and Dyce's commendation — Review of the R.A. Exhibition
- 'That animal Hart' — Frank Stone— Goodall — Maclise — Dyce —
Eastlake— Landseer, &c. — Madox Brown and the North London
School of Drawing— W. B. Scott's account.

THE year 1850 was one of studies.

Those for Chaucer and for the Black Prince
are noticed in Madox Brown's note-book as works
of some little: importance. The head of the Black
Prince makes its reappearance in the pages of Madox
Brown's diary for 1856, when it is worked on and sold
to ' Old White,1 the dealer.

That of Chaucer, a carefully painted portrait of
Rnssetti, is more worthy of passing reference as
«»nc of the good portraits of the poet-artist of that
date.

68 LIFE OF FORD MADOK BROll'X 1850-

The only other work clone during the year was the
finishing of the portrait of Shakespeare and of a chalk
drawing of Christ, sold to Robert Dickinson for two
pounds. The remainder of the time was given to the
picture of Chaucer itself, a fact hardly to be wondered
at when one considers the enormous size and com-
paratively high finish of the work.

About this time Madox Brown paid more attention
to the matter of exhibiting than he had previously done
—indeed, between this year and 1865 his appearances
at provincial exhibitions were more frequent than at
any former or subsequent period. This policy of
' decentralisation ' seems to have been warranted by its
results. In Dublin Cordelia and Lear won the atten-
tion of McCracken, who subsequently became the
first purchaser of Pre-Raphaelite works at a time
when purchasers of Pre- Raphaelite works extended
their patronage to Madox Brown. The same picture
was also hung in the exhibition of the North London
School of Design, as was the cartoon of Oure Ladye
of Good Children. The portrait of his daughter Lucy
was exhibited at the ' Exhibition of Sketches,' and
the Shakespeare at Messrs. Dickinson's rooms in Old
Bond Street. These essays at gaining the public
suffrage evoked little or no praise of any sort.

As regards Madox Brown's life during the year
little need be said. His studio was still in Newman
Street, and his life tranquil and frugal in the ex-

1851 NEli:\U\ STREET 69

treme. To Mr. Lowes Dickinson's letters from
Rome I am again indebted for the following little
picture : —

I shall content myself with saying, while on the subject, that I
hope when we do meet again we shall meet as if I had only left the
studio yesterday. We will imagine the Chaucer yet unfinished, old
' fuss and feathers ' Gough in his wonted place, three mutton chops
and nine penn'orth of gin on the stove beside the delicious jar of
birdseye (oh, in this true tobacco-loathing country, how my mouth
waters at the thought of it), and you, my dear boy — just as you used
to be, that is all— I ask for nothing more, and when that day comes,
which, please God, it will do shortly, I don't think there will be such
another happy man as me in all London town.

As a contrast, I add the following account of a first
visit of another artist, then a very young man. For
it I am indebted to the kindness of its narrator, Mr.
Arthur Hughes:—

I shall always remember my first sight of him some forty years
ago, in a vast studio he had, behind a house on the right-hand side
of Newman Street, a part of which Gabriel Rossetti was using. It
was to see Rossetti that I was taken by my friend, Alec Munro, the
sculptor, and greatly impressed I was by the mysterious studio all
darkened by the great canvas Brown was at work upon of Chaucer
at the Court of Edivard III. (Rossetti being the model for
Chaucer), and which afterwards seemed to fill almost the whole side
of the middle room of the Royal Academy in Trafalgar Square, and
which, to complete in time, Brown worked upon continuously the
last three days and nights. However, I was not allowed to see its
face on this occasion, but, from its depths, Brown emerged with the
impressive and rather severe face he seemed habitually to wear in
those days, and which gave place to so entirely different a one in
later years. His picture of the Last of England represents exactly

70 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1850-

his earlier face, where it looks out at us from the ship's stern
disappointed and half resentful.

On the other hand, I think it would have been very difficult to
find a face of happier character, and one more genially benign, than he
habitually carried in later life ; and, at the same time, its grand lines
and heroic character only seemed to increase with age.

Mr. W. M. Rossetti, on the other hand, assures
me that, as far as his remembrance carries him, he
cannot remember any of the appearance either of age
or misanthropy that seems to have impressed many
people. I should certainly be inclined myself to ascribe
to his countenance some very considerable shade of
gloom, if some half-dozen photographs, elating from
this year onwards to 1862, are to be credited. They
all exhibit the same species of frown — one betokening,
it is true, almost as much the hard thinker, who is
resolving a knotty point, as the hater of all mankind ;
but a person who, upon introduction, is received
with such a frown might perhaps not stop to
analyse it.

Madox Brown's preoccupation at this date was
very considerable, and it needed the conversation of
some such intimate friend as W. M. Rossetti to
awaken him from thoughts of a gloomy nature.

From the above letter, and from a foregoing ex-
tract, it will be learnt that, however strenuous were
Madox Brown's efforts to finish the Chaucer, it was
only by working night and day for some days before
' sending-in day ' that he was able to accomplish his
task in time for the R.A. exhibition. The complication

1851 NEWMAN STREET 71

of the subject was great. It is thus explained by
Madox Brown : ]—

Chaucer is supposed to be reading these pathetic lines from the
' Legend of Custance ' : —

4 Hire litel child lay weping on hire arm,
And kneling pitously to him she said,
Pees, litel sone, I wol do thee no harm.
With that hire coverchief of hire hed she braid
And over his litel eyen she it laid,
And in hire arme she lulleth it ful fast,
And unto the heven hire eyen up she cast.'

Edward III. is now old, Philippa being dead ; the Black Prince
is supposed to be in his last illness. John of Gaunt, who was
Chaucer's patron, is represented in full armour, to indicate that active
measures now devolve upon him. Pages holding his shield, (Sic., wait
for him, his horse, likewise, in the yard beneath. Edward the Black
Prince, now in his fortieth year, emaciated by sickness, leans on the
lap of his wife Joanna, surnamed the Fair Maid of Kent. There
had been much opposition to their union, but the Prince ultimately
had his own way.

To the right of the old king is Alice Ferrers, a cause of scandal
to the Court, such as, repeating itself at intervals in history with
remarkable similarity from David downwards, seems to argue that the
untimely death of a hero may not be altogether so deplorable an
event.

Seated beneath are various personages suited to the time and
place. A troubadour from the South of France, half-jealous, half in
awestruck admiration ; a cardinal priest on good terms with the
ladies, a jester forgetting his part in rapt attention to the poet. This
character, I regret to say, is less mediaeval than Shakespearian. Two
dilettante courtiers [are] learnedly criticising, the one in the hood is
meant for Gower. Lastly, a youthful squire of the kind described by
Chaucer as never sleeping at night, ' more than doth the nightingale,'
so much is he always in love.

Sitting on the ground being common in these days, rushes used

1 From the Catalogue of the Piccadilly Exhibition, 1865.

72 LIFE OF FORD MAD OX BROWN 1850-

to be strewn to prevent the gentlemen from spoiling their fine
clothes.

This picture is the first in which I endeavoured to carry out the
notion, long before conceived, of treating the light and shade abso-
lutely as it exists at any one moment instead of approximately or in
generalised style. Sunlight, not too bright, such as is pleasant to sit
in out-of-doors, is here depicted. The figures in the spandrils of the
arch symbolise the overthrow through Chaucer of the Saxon bard and
the Norman troubadour.

It may be interesting to mention that, besides that
of Rossetti, the work contained portraits of several
of the painter's circle. The page was Deverell, the
'beloved' young P.R.B. ; the troubadour, W. M.
Rossetti ; and the jester, John Marshall, the surgeon.

From a letter of Madox Brown to Mr. Lowes
Dickinson in Rome, bearing date March i, I quote
the following details relating to the picture's pro-
gress : —

Ford Madox Brown to Lowes Dickinson.

My picture begins to assume a finished look ; but, as you may
imagine, there is yet an immensity of work to do to it, and only
thirty-three days more ! However, I feel more confident of getting
it done than I have yet. I have been out this evening to procure
divers little articles which still remain to be painted in, and have
procured a hood of chain mail from Cross, who returned last night
from Devonshire, also some feathers to make a fan, and some cloth
of gold. Some flowers, a dog, and some white velvet will complete the
nasty list of little things to be run after. The frame is ordered, or
rather bought, for it is a chance one of immense value which I got
for next to nothing. The draperies are all finished except some
bits that I must alter ; the heads are all painted in, and all finished ;
the hands are all finished with few exceptions. I find I get on faster
and faster as it comes to the close, but I fear much will not be done
justice to from over-anxiety to proceed quickly. As you can imagine,

,S5. NEWMAN STREET 73

1 am from day to day more deeply disgusted with all I do, at times
cursing and blaspheming, but I suppose it will never be otherwise.

On May 14 he writes of the picture as hun^ :—

I^ord Mado.Y ttrown to Lowes Dickinson.

I myself have been pretty well martyrised. They did not hang
the frame of my large picture, and they turned out >ny S/iakcspear,
which you can imagine enraged me not a little. As to the papers, I
have had some fine criticisms and some violent abuse. They seem
to smell a rat, and begin to know that if not an actual Pre-Raphaelite
Brother, I am an aider and abettor of Pre-Raphaelitism, and under
that impression they do not seem to know how to act. Many
of the papers which abuse Hunt and Millais most violently pass me
over in utter contempt, which is hardly to be looked upon as sincere.
The ' Times ' seemed to have a great inclination to abuse, but to hesi-
tate and give it up. My picture looked well in my studio, but in the
Academy it is placed too high and shone all over, which hurt it ; and
then I find that our pictures are so totally unlike any of the others, that
they lose immensely from that very reason. We ought (to do them
justice) to exhibit them quite apart. I have heard that the Acade-
micians like my work very much, but, without that knowledge, I
could very well believe that they detest it.

The impetus of this strenuous industry at the be-
Lnnnin^- of the year docs not seem to have slackened
throughout the months that succeeded.

A Ln-cat deal of the work was, however, mere
retouching of studies and sketches for Chaucer and
Wickliffe. The fresco specimens of the Spirit of
Justice were destroyed this year on the artist's re-
moval from his studio in Newman Street. The vast
Chaucer having departed, there remained no need
for a studio of such proportions. The other pictures

74

LIFE OF FORD MAD OX BROWN

1850-

of the year were the Pretty Baa Lambs and the never
finished Take your Son, Sir, which were both painted
at Stockwell.

A work of a different kind is the etching of the

STUDY FOR HEAD OF CHAUCER' [ Portrait of D. ('.. Rossetti], 1850.

Parting of Cordelia and her Sisters, from the out-
line series designed at Paris in 1844. As an etching
it is scarcely a success, its noteworthiness lying in
the fact that it was executed for the Pre-Raphaelite

1 From original in possession of Mr. R. S. (iarnett.

1851 NEWMAN STREET 75

magazine, the 'Germ.' For that now famous organ he
also wrote a paper on the ' Mechanique of a Historical
Picture.'

I shall pass lightly over the personal events of
1851, contenting myself with quoting one or two
letters addressed by him to Mr. Lowes Dickinson at
Rome : —

Ford Madox Brown to Loiccs Dickinson.

March 1851.

Poor Seddon has been attacked with a rheumatic fever, which has
nearly taken him off. ... He had just began making a reproduction
of my large picture, which I had set him to, as I thought it would be
easy for me afterwards to make a fair copy out of it. His sudden
illness, taking me away from here, left me quite unhappy, for at first
it was very doubtful if he could get over it. I have taken a great
affection for the fellow, which I used to show chiefly by abusing him,
and his sudden absence . . . made me feel precious lonely for the
first half of this month, but I am more used to it. I saw him for the
first time last week, he was in bed, but eating. I believe he now
has three dinners every day besides lunches. He was lying in a
sort of ecstatic contemplation of the reform which he believed the
illness will have worked in his future life. Fenton is laboriously
employed at the figure of a lady lying on a sofa in Lucy's green
quilted petticoat, at one end a table with a vase of flowers, at the
other, a table in the distance, with a faint vase and flowers. Rossetti
has just thrown up a third picture, and will have nothing [in the
Academy], but he has a commission to illustrate Longfellow's poems
along with Hunt, which will bring him in some tin. His head and
beard grow finer every day, and he has made some designs which are
perfectly divine. I mean by that, finer than anything I have ever
seen, but paint he will not. He is too idle. You know he lives in
Red Lion Square along with Deverell, and purports to keep himself.
I had thought for some time there had been some estrangement
between Rossetti and his brother, and I asked Deverell, who was

76 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1850-

sitting to me this morning. He said no. That he believed they
were as good friends as ever, but that he supposed his brother did
not call on him oftener than he could help because he was ordered
peremptorily to hand over all the cash he had about him. Hunt
is painting a very beautiful picture from the Two Gentlemen of
Verona. Millais has been slightly ill. He will have three rather
small pictures. I have seen two begun— very admirably painted—
but I only saw the backgrounds.

In the meantime the formulation of Pre-Raphaelite
principles that had appeared the year before in the
luckless ' Germ ' had aroused the anti-innovating forces
of the country, and brought down the fulminations of
their wrath upon the pictures of the school.1

1 At this date Madox Brown was not regarded as a member of the
School. I quote from the pages of ihzAthenceum — for purposes of future
contrast — notices respectively treating of the Chaucer and of Pre-
Raphaelite works in a body.

Athencetim, May 24, 1851. — After referring to the IVickliffe as a
work of much pretension, the writer continues concerning the Chaucer :
' The composition, built up after the fashion of one of our own most
popular artists, contains many passages of great excellence, but there is
much inequality in the conception and carrying out of the several
characters. These discrepancies are such as to create surprise that they
should be the work of the same hand. There is much learning displayed
in the picture, but the lore is antiquarian rather than artistic. In pro-
ducing this the diligence of the artist is displayed rather than in attending
to such pictorial treatment as the picture demanded. If the theme did
not supply situation or material for a severe presentment, there was at
least enough in it to furnish a romantic if not a poetic combination.
There is always great risk with a number of picturesque actors, clothed
in variedly shaped and gaily coloured costumes, of their assuming the
character of a tableau theatrique. It requires great earnestness of
purpose and expression to avoid this. With such a demonstration of
resource as Mr. Brown has here made there need be no doubt that, with
a sober and discreet management of it, he will at no remote period
acquire distinction within the walls in which he has this season broken
ground.'

Ibid., June 7.—' Of the Pre-Raphaelite Brethren little need now be
said, since what has already been said was said in vain.

1851 NEWMAN STREET 77

As to the pure white ground [Madox Brown writes in May], you
had better adopt that at once, as I can assure you you will be forced
to do so ultimately, for Hunt and Millais, whose works already kill
everything in the exhibition for brilliancy, will in a few years force
everyone who will not drop behind them to use their methods.
Apropos of these young men, you must be strangely puzzled to know
what to think of them if you see many of the English papers on the
present exhibition. For the amount of abuse that has been lavished
on them has been such as to impart dignity to a name which used to
be looked on more as a subject of mirth than anything else. You will
remember that with all of us, whatever used to be thought of Rossetti's,
Hunt's, and Millais' talents, the wrords Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood,
or the letters P.R.B., used to be looked upon as the childish or
ridiculous part of the business. But now, I can assure you, that
I pronounce the words without hesitation as an ordinary term in the
every day of art. The term will now remain with them, and, in the
course of time, gain a dignity which cannot fail to attach to whatever is
connected with what they do. For my own opinion, I think Millais'
pictures, as small pictures, more wonderful than any I have yet seen,
and Hunt's picture is a truly noble one. This is my sincere opinion
I also know that Mulready,1 Maclise, and Dyce think most highly
of them ; so that, after these opinions, backed by old Linnel, who
told Anthony that he thought them the finest pictures in the Academy,
I cannot put much reliance on the invectives of Frith and such a
lot. As to newspapers, you know how much we value them, but I
think I see more than usual spleen in their effusions, and I have

' Mr. Charles Collins is this year the most prominent among this band
in Con-vent Thoughts. There is an earnestness in this work worth a
thousand hypocrisies which insists on the true rendering of a buckle or
a belt while they allow the beauties of the human form to be lost sight of.
Mr. Millais exhibits his old perversity in a scene from Tennyson,
Mariana, and the Return of the Dove to the Ark. The last is a good
thought marred by its art language. The Woodman's Daughter is of
the same bad school, and Mr. Hunt brings up the rearward move by a
scene from the Two Gentlemen of Verona?

1 Mr. Lowes Dickinson informs me that Mulready gave himself some
trouble over selling one of Madox Brown's pictures, the Infant's Repast,
I believe.

78 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1850-

no doubt but that Stone and Hart, and other disgusting muffs of
influence, are at the bottom of it. I have just heard from Marshall
that Ruskin has written a letter to the ' Times ' in defence of them.
He wanted to buy Millais' pictures ; you will no doubt see the letter
in question in the supplement of the * Times ' of yesterday. ... I
suppose I must say something about the exhibition, what to look at,
what to praise, and what to avoid. There is a picture by that
animal Hart, which is very much to be avoided, and I should think
quite dangerous to women in a certain state. But Frank Stone is
more tolerable than he has been for some years. He and Goodall
are evidently making a grand splash for the Associateship. Maclise

is about the same as usual, very fine, but d d bad. Dyce has a

picture which would be admirable, but for his misconception of King
Lear and fool, which, in some measure, prevents it giving as much
pleasure as it might ; however, none but a fool or a critic would
dislike the work. Eastlake, P.R.A., is finer than usual, and makes
a very fine president in paint. Landseer is much better than
usual for those who like him. Linnel is splendid. Herbert so-so.
Danby very fine, but not so much as usual. Poole silly, but fine in
colour and poetic. Ward very good ; Egg not quite the thing ; Frith
beastly. Goodall excessive in all that is low and to the public taste.
Horsley very bad, but Cope sublime. Even the Pre-Raphaelite
Brothers in ecstasy with him, but, strange to say, his picture is not
yet sold, although he only asks 4oo/. for the triptych.

The only other subject of this year that calls for
particular attention is Madox Brown's connection with
the North London School of Design. The story is
neatly related in W. B. Scott's memoirs, and it is to
be presumed that, at about that time, Scott made the
acquaintance of Madox Brown.

Madox Brown replaced Mr. Cave Thomas as the
headmaster of the institution, or, as Scott puts it, ' The
unsuccessful F. M. Brown at this time was making a
herculean bid for fame and fortune by taking over the

STREET 79

headmastership of an institution l that was meant to
run as an opposition to the Academy schools.' But
whether it was really a commercial speculation on the
part of Madox Brown, or whether it was a sincere
attempt to ' propagandise,' must, I think, remain a
problem. Scott, however, is very fond of playing
advocatus diaboli.

In any case, Madox Brown was not very suc-
cessful in the attempt. It was one in which the
' Government itself subsequently failed, although it was
aided by several such men as I,' as Scott naively
puts it.

The suggestion made by the same gentleman that
the small number of shavings in Millais' picture of
the Carpenter $ Shop was due to the fact that Madox
Brown set his class the task of drawing some half-
dozen of these articles, is sufficiently traversed by the
fact that the former artist (whose own authority I have
for making the statement) ' never was a pupil anywhere
but at Sass's 2 and the Royal Academy Schools.'

1 Founded in 1850 by Thomas Seddon and some of his friends, it
was meant to serve as a sort of Art Night School. The pupils were
plentiful, but did not pay their subscriptions very readily. The exhibition
got up in 1850, to which Madox Brown contributed, was intended as a
financial help to the institution. — Life of T. Seddon, by J. P. Seddon.

'-' This was the ' drawing academy,' kept by F. S. Gary, which Rossetti
also attended.

8o LIFE OF FORD MADOX BRO\\\\ 1852-

CHAPTER VI

1852-1855

Christ Washing Peter's Feet — Portraits contained in it — Other works — •
Important works begun— The Last of England, Work, and the
English Autumn Afternoon — Sales — Exhibition of the Pretty Baa
Lambs and the Christ and Peter at the R.A. — Madox Brown's last
appearance on those walls — His reasons — Rudeness to Grant —
McCracken's purchases — His enthusiasm — Mutual helpfulness of the
Pre-Raphaelite painters — Letter from Mr. Hunt about their plans —
Madox Brown's solitary and hardworking habits — Letter to Mr.
Dickinson about his own and brother artists' work in hand — The
commencement of Work — Rossetti's struggles with chaos — Work
done in 1853 — Increased solitariness and misanthropy — Rossetti's
chaff— Letters from Mr. Hunt and Seddon— Madox Brown's malady
reaches a climax — Takes a holiday in London— Letter to Mrs. Madox
Brown about plays, &c. — Work during 1854 — Disastrous sale at
Phillips' — Madox Brown's life during the year— Letters from Seddon,
in Egypt, about his own and Holman Hunt's work — Hunt's unsparing-
ness of models— Similarity in Madox Brown's case — Out-of-door work
in cold weather — Work during 1855 — Landscapes — Hendon, &c. —
The Last of England finished— Description of the picture— Its
success — Excursions into the country round Hendon — Anecdote of
Turner.

ONE of Madox Brown's most important works —
certainly his most important religious picture — was
begun in the later months of 1851, and occupied the
earlier portion of the succeeding year — the picture of
Christ Washing Peter s Feet.

1855 WORK DURING 1852 81

Madox Brown's description of it runs as follows : —

St. John tells us that Jesus, rising from supper, ' laid aside His
garments,' perhaps to give more impressiveness to the lesson of
humility, ' and took a towel and girded Himself,' poured water into a
basin (in the East usually of copper or brass), ' and began to wash
the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was
girded.' Then Peter said, ' Lord, dost thou wash my feet?' And
again Peter said unto Him, ' Thou shalt never wash my feet.' The
purposely assumed humility of Jesus at this moment, and the intense
veneration implied in the words of Peter, I have endeavoured to
render in this composition. The very simple traditional costume of
Jesus and His disciples, which seems, moreover, warranted by modern
research, as also the traditional youthfulness of John, curly grey hair
of Peter, and red hair of Judas, which I should be loth to disturb
without having more than my own notion to give in lieu, I have
retained — combined with such truth of surroundings and accessories
as I thought most conducive \.Q general truth, always intending, how-
ever, in this picture, the documentary and historic to be subordinate
to the supernatural and Christianic — wherefore I have retained the
nimbus. This, however, everyone who has considered the subject
must understand, appeals out from the picture to the beholder— not to
the other characters in the picture. Judas Iscariot is represented
lacing up his sandals, after his feet have been washed.

Apart from the intrinsic worth of the picture, it
has an historic interest of its own, in that it con-
tains portraits of several of the members of the P.R.
circle.

The head of Christ is a literal transcript of that of
Mr. F. G. Stephens ; of the Apostles, omitting Judas,
the ist on the left is Mr. W. M. Rossetti ; the 2nd,
Mr. Holman Hunt ; the 4th, Mr. Hunt, sen. ; the
5th, C. B. Cayley ; the 6th, D. G. Rossetti, and the
7th, St. John, is, I believe, Miss Christina Rossetti.

82 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1852-

Mr. William Rossetti is, however, of opinion that it
was Deverell, the P.R., who sat for the head.

The following remark anent a carping criticism
of his words, ' the purposely assumed humility of
Jesus,' may have an interest as indicating Madox
Brown's method of approaching and analysing a
subject: 'Of course His humility was purposely as-
sumed to teach a lesson ; because, if He had been in
the habit of washing the disciples' feet, or even if they
had taken it in turns to do so for each other, Peter
would not have been so troubled at the proposition.'

Apart from the finishing of this picture, the
'beginnings' of the year render 1852 epoch-making.
These included works of no less importance than the
Last of England, Work, and the English Autumn
Afternoon. The two former rank as among the finest
of Madox Brown's modern-historic period, the last is
perhaps his most important landscape.

The studies for Work and the Last of England
occuoied Madox Brown during the middle portion of
the year. The pen-and-ink design for the former
picture was begun in June, the sketch for the back-
ground painted a little later, and, finally, the background
of the picture itself was ' painted in the Heath Street,
July and August.' Those for the Last of England in-
clude the first sketch, the pencil-drawing, a chalk study
of the head of Madox Brown, and, finally, the picture
itself. As, however, both these works remained for
several years in an embryonic stage, I shall reserve

1855 U'OKK DURING 1852 83

detailed mention of them until the dates of their com-
pletion arrive.

The English Autumn Afternoon was 'begun from
my back window ' in September of the same year, and
was very nearly completed before the autumn tints
had quite departed. It was completed in the autumns
of the succeeding years. I quote Madox Brown's note
on the picture, as much for the sake of its amusing dis-
cursiveness as for the light thrown on it :—

This was painted in the autumns of 1852 and 1853, and finished,
I think, in 1854. It is a literal transcript of the scenery round
London, as looked at from Hampstead. The smoke is seen rising
half way above the fantastic: shaped, small distant cumuli which
accompany particularly fine weather. The upper portion of the sky
would be blue, as seen reflected in the youth's hat, the grey mist
of autumn only rising a certain height. The time is 3 P.M., when
late in October the shadows already lie long, and the sun's rays
(coming from behind us in this work) are preternaturally glowing,
as in rivalry of the foliage. The figures are peculiarly English they
are hardly lovers — mere boy and girl neighbours and friends. In no
other country would they be so allowed out together, save in America,
where (if report says true) the young ladies all carry latch-keys ; both
of us true inheritors from the Norsemen of Iceland, whose ladies
would take horse and ride for three months about the island, without
so much as a presumptuous question on their return from the much
tolerating husbands of the period.

Other works of 1852 not calling for more' than the
mere record an! a duplicate of the Pretty ttaa Lambs
and one of // 'a it ing.

Another couple of works, PanT s Cray Church
and a Chalk Portrait, arc merely remarkable for
their extremely low prices, 2/. 8.v. and 2/. 2S.

G 2

84 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1852-

Financially, the year was the most successful
Madox Brown had hitherto experienced. His picture
of Wickliffe, exhibited the year before at Dublin,
had attracted the attention of McCracken, who pur-
chased the sketch for the picture in October for
io/. i os., and later in the same year the picture itself
for 63/., 'and a Dighton, which I sold for 8/. ios.'

The soundness of Madox Brown's policy of provin-
cial exhibition of his pictures was further exemplified by
the purchase for 5/. of the sketch for the Infanfs Repast,
which was exhibited at Bristol, and there purchased by
an entire stranger, Mr. Edward Stanley, in November ;
thus raising the total for the year to QI/. The same
year saw the exhibition at the Academy of the Christ
and Peter, and the Pretty Baa Lambs. The skying
of the pictures and the reception accorded them by
the semi-official press proved so exasperating to Madox
Brown as to bring about not only the scene with
Grant, but the decision never to exhibit again at the
Royal Academy.

The Pretty Baa Lambs, a picture that becomes
hopelessly enigmatic as soon as one attempts to
read a meaning into it, was singled out for quite a
number of animadversions. It was called ' Catholic
Art' — it was called blasphemous, whereas it was
merely a study of light and heat. As a matter of fact,
the picture was not singularly attractive, and at the
time found no admirers. Even the ' Spectator,' which
at that time was the Pre-Raphaelite organ, found

1855 THE ROYAL ACADEMY 85

sufficient fault with it. The Christ and Peter it ex-
tolled as a great work, but its voice was the vox
claniantis in a howling desert of dispraise. The fact
that Madox Brown was one of the Iconoclasts was
now sufficiently evident on the faces of his canvases ;
there seemed to be no chance of his returning to
the flock of Academic lambs. There was also the
rudeness to Grant, which was to be paid back by the
critictil hangers-on of the Academy.1 The papers
which now bej^an to temper the wind of their wrath
against the P. R.'s themselves did nothing of the sort
for the blast which overwhelmed the shorn scape-
goat, Maclox Brown.

1 I once more quote from the Athemcum^ whose accredited critic was
Frank Stone, A.K.A., one of the most virulent enemies of the movement,
'the contrast between this notice and that devoted to the Chaucer of
the previous year is sufficiently startling to afford amusement.

' No. 463, by Mr. Ford Maclox Brown, is more ambitious. This artist
appears to have studied at Valencia, where mulberries are plentiful as
blackberries, and he has closely observed the works of Joannes, where
purple tones are so predominant. In this picture it pervades everything
—the habit, the naked limbs of the Saviour, and the dress of St. Peter,
who either feels himself unworthy of the honour done him by his Master,
or by his feet's action makes us feel the water to be too hot. Certainly
the copper utensil which contains it seems filled with either blood or
raspberries undergoing- the jam process. The Apostles seated at the
table appear to take no interest in the lavation — appearing rather bored
— so much has the artist rejected the conventional attitudes usual on this
occasion.' — Athenceitm, May 22, 1852.

With regard to the rudeness to Grant — a fact vouched for to me by
several eyewitnesses, including Mr. Holman Hunt — it resolves itself into
Madox Brown's refusing to receive the congratulations of the future
President. The Christ and Peter was hung next the ceiling, and when
Grant came to offer his congratulations, Madox Brown, whose eye had
only just fallen on his own picture, turned his back in speechless indig-
nation and walked out of the building.

86 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1852-

In the end it came about that Madox Brown sent
no more pictures to the Academy, and saw Academic
hands in every misfortune or check that he experienced
throughout the rest of his life.

Madox Brown's patron, McCracken, seems to
have been the only person who was entirely satisfied
with the turn events had taken. His letters were
at this date both frequent and enthusiastic. In
May he writes congratulating him upon the fact
that his picture of Christ and Peter is the pic-
ture of the year, and enclosing an elaborate ' tribute
to your genius from an intelligent gentleman, a Mr.
Winstanley' ; in June chronicles the admiration excited
in his own household by Madox Brown's works, and
so forth. What is, perhaps, more material, he sup-
ported the nascent movement to the full extent that
his not too well filled purse allowed, purchasing in
the same year Hunt's Two Gentlemen of Verona,
Millais' Hug^lenots, and Madox Brown's Wickliffe,
and commissioning Rossetti's Annunciation. In this
latter purchase he was guided by the advice of Madox
Brown, who was cordially backed up by Mr. Holman
Hunt.

This hearty enthusiasm for each other's works
was an unvarying and pleasant characteristic of the
artists connected with the movement. In the mean-
time they met frequently to discuss plans for the
future. Of these, one of the most important was

1 855 P.R. MEETINGS 87

that of the foundation of an Exhibiting- Society that
should rival the Royal Academy.

In the latter part of the year Mr. Hunt writes
from Hastings :

In a few days I hope to return (before the commencement of next
week), but as I may not be able to get to Hampstead for a day or
two after that, and fearing that by then you may have resolved not
to attend the meeting at my place, I write to endeavour to influence
you while you are still undecided. This preamble would lead one to
think that the question to be considered were one of the greatest
national importance, and \Yilliam Rossetti's and Millais' letters lead me
to think that the intention in desiring your presence has been mis-
understood, so I must explain that it is not for the consideration of
the better means of defending the English coast, but simply to the end
that we may have tea, toast, and talk together. It is true that I wish
the talk to be on a particular subject, but not if you and the others
think it unnecessary. My notion is that, long before you, Gabriel, and
I are elected associates of the highly honoured and esteemed Royal
Academy, it will be necessary for us to consider whether we prefer
having our pictures hung out of sight in that institution or taking
measures for their better exhibition elsewhere. If you think with me,
then it seems to be desirable that the expediency of exhibiting to-
gether or apart be decided before I leave England, as my directions
to Mr. Combe, who will manage my business for me, must be regulated
by the intentions of yourself, Gabriel, and Millais.

The meeting does not seem to have produced
any very definite result ; for, ten days later, Rossetti,
in sending to Madox Brown an invitation to meet
Hunt,Millais, Stephens, Deverell,the Seddons, Collins,
and perhaps David Hannay, refers to the invita-
tion as not given ' with any view to exhibition pro-
jects, which are likely to result, I believe, in our exhibit-

88 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1852-

ing nothing but our usual inconsistency.' At that date
meetings of the Brethren and their allies were of
almost daily occurrence, but to judge from the not
infrequent upbraidings contained in Rossetti's letters,
Madox Brown's attendance at these meetings was very
irregular.

In July he had taken lodgings in Hampstead
with the view of painting the background of Work.
This he did, working assiduously in Heath Street,
a proceeding which excited the admiration and
astonishment of idle passers-by. The weather was
by no means propitious, but on very rainy days
he worked in an unhorsed four-wheeled cab. The
elements, in fact, do not seem to have been at all
favourably inclined towards the new school. Seddon
writes from Dinan, complaining that the tempests have
interrupted his work and driven him back to Paris.
Incidentally he records a visit to Casey's studio, where
the artist is discovered engaged upon the sketch of a
huge cohue a la Rubens. It represented ' the Madness
of the Nations from the " Revelation " ; a crowd
below hurling down the crucifix and kings, and the
Angel of Peace, who has a dim resemblance to Louis
Napoleon, riding on the clouds with a regular host
of white angelic beings to re-establish fordre.' A
curious reminder that, coming to Madox Brown, who
was then engaged upon a picture that exhausted
eleven years in its painting ; but it is to be doubted
whether Casey's Triumph of Slosh brought more

1855 ' SUMMARY 89

fame or fortune to its painter than did Madox Brown's
Apotheosis of Labo^tr. Seddon's letters are full of
predictions of the triumph of the new school, but in
these hopes Madox Brown would not seem to have
shared. He had almost entirely withdrawn himself
from all society, and was dedicating- his entire energies
to work. To this he was driven by the necessity for
economy. Hitherto his life had been sufficiently easy,
but the contingency of the exhaustion of his private
means was now by no means so remote as to be a
pleasant subject of contemplation, and family burdens
were beginning to increase-.

Another, and this the last, of Madox Brown's
letters to Mr. Lowes Dickinson at Rome, summarises
the position from his own point of view :—

Ford Madox Brown to Mr. Lowes Dickinson.

October 17.

I have not been doing much good for myself or anyone else that
I can make out since my last report of proceedings here, and yet I
have been almost incessantly engaged, so that, between the two, I
do not feel in the best of dispositions towards things human or
inanimate, but, if anything, dull, and crabbed, and stupid. Which
phase in one's psychology does not constitute the fittest for penning
engaging and witty epistles as I should wish, and feel it my duty, to
send you after so long a delay. Accordingly, of late, my letters
(when forced to write at all) have been confined to the summary
style of news or disconnected rigmarole of such information as would
present itself to the endeavouring ideas after much scratching of the
head. I feel that, in the present case, I have been doing something
more (as the case requires) as well from conscious demerits on my
side as from the great reputation, as a letter writer, of the party
written to. Yet, having showed good will by writing so far, I feel I

9o LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1852

must now give up the facetious for fear of the efforts to maintain it
becoming too apparently pathetic. And so I content myself with
the usual summing-up of follies. I have done so and so, such a one
has done such and such ; such another is an ass ; such another has
got so many commissions and has been so much abused. It might
be all written down in a list and the names added — for instance : —

F. Madox Brown, pictures painted and not sold . 3

Lucy „ „ „ . 2

Rossetti „ „ „ . o

Seddon „ „ „ . i

Millais, pictures painted and sold . .2

Hunt „ „ .1

Thomas „ „ „ .1

Madox Brown commenced and

put by * . . .2 Got commissions . . o

Hunt 3 Hunt .... 3

Millais . . . . .2 Millais, without end

Rossetti (* the put by is for Ros-
setti) .... 6 Seddon . . . .2

Lucy o Lucy .... 2

Got abused in the papers. . . . Everyone, including Millais and
Rossetti, although the latter very unjustly, seeing that he had done
nothing to merit it.

Got appointments — Ford Madox Brown to the Headmastership
of the North London School of Drawing and Modelling, vice Cave
Thomas, resigned in despair of ever getting his salary. . . .

With myself, the greatest change that has taken place is a removal
from Newman Street to Hampstead, where I now reside, and am
writing in a state of seclusion quite imperial, only to be equalled by
that of the captain of a man-of-war. Since, I have painted a little
picture l of a child asleep on its mother's knees, she working by fire
and lamp light. I sent two pictures to the Academy with perfect
unsuccess, unless of abuse. I have worked about two months at the
background of a picture 2 put by for next year — a twenty figure affair.

1 Waiting. 2 Work.

1 85 5 EMIGRA TION 9 1

This I painted in Heath Street here (it being 6\ feet long) on
a truck fitted up by myself for the occasion, to the astonish-
ment of all well-regulated people. But this trial, the greatest I have
hitherto faced, is over, and the event but to be chronicled among
other heroisms for the admiration of such as have the bump of
veneration on the top of their heads, and natures not altogether
owlish or vulpine. The Hampstead police I can affirm to be not
altogether wanting in veneration, while, on the other hand, 'wonder'
appeared developed in the little boys to the extent of wondering ' if
he stopped there all night,' and 'how he got his victuals.' (Fact.)

Enough now of my own struggles with chaos and the devil : let
us turn to D. G. Rossetti and heroic acts, and whose struggles with
chaos, at any rate, may be said to be perpetual (seeing that his
room is still the same chaos as wont, from which he is, without
intermission, seeking to separate some blacklead pencil or penknife),
whatever remission his conflict with the devil may undergo. I am
sorry to say that, out of three or four pictures begun, he has not
finished any, but he has painted and sold three or four lovely
Dantesque water-colour drawings and written some lovely verses.

The Royal Commission has been nibbling at Cave Thomas and
O'Neill, also at some others, after insulting some half-dozen men all
much admired by themselves.

Hunt is getting on very well, and, I think, soon going to the East.
Woolner, alas ! is gone to the gold diggings, hoping to amass millions
to carry on his art. Hannay has made great progress in station and
employment, being now constantly employed for all the best peri-
odical papers. Anthony has been very successful indeed, and now is
in Ireland.

The immediate result of Madox Brown's having
accompanied Woolner as far as Gravesend was the
conception of the picture of the Last of England,
and during the two years that followed a feeling of
regret that he had not accompanied him still further
to the Eldorado of the whole nation, crossed his mind
frequently. His attempts to stave off these gloomy

92 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1852-

thoughts by hard work did little more than increase
the disorder, and in the end the gloominess of mind
reacted upon his work.

One design for a picture that subsequently became
of importance apart, the year's work was limited to
the touching-up of studies, and even of these the num-
ber was somewhat meagre.1 A somewhat curious
essay that he made in the latter part of the year was
the Lithograph drawn from the Original Study for
Windermere. Chromo-lithography 2 was at that date
by no means the vulgarised commercial process it
subsequently became, and at every stage of his career
Madox Brown took a lively, almost naive, interest
in the various improvements and refinements in me-
chanical reproductive processes. The present one
would not seem to have afforded him much satisfac-
tion. Of it only five copies were printed, and then
the stone was rubbed out. Subsequently four of the
lithographs were destroyed, the remaining one, after
having been coloured in body colour, being presented
some years subsequently to John Marshall, the sur-
geon. The rest of the year was occupied with work
upon the picture of the Last of England, and upon
the study of St. Ives, which was afterwards known
as Cromwell on his Farm. Outside the studio things
seemed no more propitious. The duplicate of Wait-

1 See Appendix (list of works).

2 One of our art-papers which has undertaken the revival of litho-
graphy has invented the more pleasant sounding name of ' auto-litho-
graphy ' for the lithographs executed by the artist himself.

1 85 5 SOLITUDE 93

ing, exhibited at the Royal Academy, attracted no
attention, and the year's sales were smaller than ever.
McCracken alone remained a faithful purchaser to
the extent of ' io/. and a Danby.'

In the meantime Madox Brown's methods of
living became still more solitary. Rossetti advises
him, if he wishes to pursue his present habits, ' to
get off Edgar's part in " King Lear," and when any
one addresses you, answer " Fe, fi, fo, fum," which
would be a quicker method of getting rid of every-
one's society.' It was at this time that he set to work
to write a ' Hogarthian sonnet sequence.' ' They
have great excellencies,' Rossetti writes, 'but they
also present a few obscurities, to which Browning
would serve as a text-book only.'

From distant climes came letters from Mr. Holman
Hunt, who was in Palestine ; from Woollier, in the
goldfields ; or from Seddon, who was in Paris with
1 Wappers, grown fat and unpoetical to a degree ; '
and Casey, ' marvellously blooming,' and other friends
of Madox Brown's youth. Such letters filled Madox
Brown with an ungratifiable desire to travel himself,
perhaps to Damascus, ' a pile of luxury and delight,
fountain, and courtyards, and cheap servants,' that
Mr. Hunt wrote of.

The few friends who had time to ' get up to
Hampstead,' a locality more difficult of attainment
then than to-day, Madox Brown contrived, either
accidentally or of set purpose, to miss. ' You seem

94 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1852-

to have got quite out of reach — " pinnacled dim in the
intense inane," as Shelley has it,' Rossetti writes to
him in November.

It is, of course, impossible to recover any trace
of the thoughts that arose in Madox Brown's mind
during this period of gloom. He refers to it now and
then in his later correspondence ; compares it, indeed,
to the time of religious depression in the life of Oliver
Cromwell that he depicted in the picture of Cromwell
on his Farm. During the period he must have men-
tally evolved the ' literary ideas ' of that picture, of
the Last of England, and of Work, which last alone
is a monumental effort in the direction of the display-
ing of its own philosophy.

Thus the products of this time, whether we con-
sider it as one of Sturm imd Drang, or of ' temptation
of the spirit,' such as Bunyan suffered, may be con-
sidered to justify themselves. The spectacle of a man
holding himself apart from his fellows, and steeping
himself in Carlyle and gloom, is, however, one capable
of being burlesqued ; the mood had, perhaps, its self-
conscious side, and as such it must have appeared to
Madox Brown's deserted companions a n't subject for
the squibs of Rossetti in his buoyant moods.

Thus we have Rossetti's letter of November 25,
with its suggestion of ' the intense inane.'

Some clays before it was written, however, Madox
Brown had gone to town to consult John Marshall
concerning sundry hypochonclriacal symptoms which

1 85 5 MELANCHOLIA 95

troubled his mind. On the iQth we have him writing
to his wife that that distinguished surgeon had dia-
gnosed his case as one of mere melancholia, having
no connection with any of the mysterious brain or
internal maladies that Madox Brown's imagination
had conjured up.

Marshall prescribed an absolute change of scene,
and for some weeks after that Madox Brown led a
nomadic life, writing to his wife from Hendon, High-
gate, or Blackfriars, where Rossetti then had his rooms.

The letters are full of details of inns and waiters
and late 'buses missed, and the like minor mishaps.
Another edict of the physician enjoined frequent
visits to the play.

Mr. to Mrs. Madox Brown.

Seddon wants to know if he shall bring you home from Egypt a
black boy and buttons, and begs to be kindly remembered. He
saw Casey, whom \_sic\ he tells me was looking remarkably well and
prosperous. He gave him my address, as he wished to write to me.
At the Lyceum the other night I saw the piece mentioned in the
' Times ' as the ' Bachelor of Arts,' but found it very common.

The other piece of Tom Taylor's, 'A Nice Firm,' about two
lawyers and their blunders, was very good indeed ; but I think
Charles Mathews is getting worn out, and does not play with' the
verve he used to.

Wright played in two broad farces, and was capital, and, al-
though I was in no laughing mood, made me laugh outright ; but
he is intensely vulgar, and, next to Keeley, the best of the mimic
actors I know. He played in one piece in which he has a jealous
wife, and his efforts to avoid giving her suspicion are most ludicrous
and absurd, and, of course, operate against himself.

He dresses himself in most frightful fashion, and takes his best

96 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1852-

clothes out with him in his lawyer's blue bag, and, of course, his wife
gets it and shakes the parcel out of it. Then when any of the
servants come in he makes signs to them if they say anything which
he thinks liable to misconstruction. Of course his wife asks what
they are making signs for. Then he bullies the fellow, and asks him
what the meaning of his muttering is.

' Speak out,' he says, * and don't stand muttering there.' Alto-
gether he made the house roar with laughter.

Pray, dearest, write and let me know how Kate is, and be as
loving as your last letter.

I am yours entirely, dearest Emma,

FORD MADOX BROWN.

Let me know if you had the two sovereigns and the silk safe.

It was not until the year was almost at its end
that Madox Brown returned home. The change had
not perhaps effected an absolute cure. Some of the
sunshine of material prosperity was needed to drive
away his gloomy thoughts. A certain tendency to
exaggerated, almost incomprehensible, suspiciousness,
that hardly ever deserted him, would seem to have
been a legacy from that period of his life. But abso-
lute 'melancholia' in its technically medical sense
was a thing thenceforth unknown to him. Although
never without a tendency to gloomy foreboding, he
seems afterwards to have allayed it with a strain of
pococurantism.'

1854 was another year of touchings-up and re-
paintings. The picture of Work was laid aside, that
of the Last of England only worked at with that
half-heartedness that the want of a commissioning
purchaser sometimes engendered. Considering the

WORK DURING 1854 97

strikingly small recognition that had been, and was
for some years to be, accorded to him, Madox
Brown's output of work betokens wonderful perse-
verance. Although gigantic canvases like that of the
Chaucer no longer filled his studio, the labour neces-
sary for completing even the comparatively small
one of the Last of England should not be under-esti-
mated. But at this date a great deal of the energy
that had carried him through such enormous works as
the cartoons was expended.

One circumstance in connection with the delay
in the completion of the Last of England should
not be overlooked. It needed certain atmospheric
effects ; it had to be ' painted out of doors in grey,
cold days,' and during a number of grey days rain
would prevent painting altogether, and during others
the right degree of coldness or of cloudiness was not
present.

A great deal of the year was given to preparing
work for a disastrous sale by auction which took
place at Phillips' in July.

At this sale the picture of the English Autumn
Afternoon, which had occupied three successive
autumns in the painting, was knocked down for nine
guineas. As regards the Cordelia at the Bedside of
Lear, the artist's note runs : ' Four months' work on
it at Finchley in 1854. Sold by auction at Phillips'
for 1 5/. to J. P. Seddon. Had back in exchange for
St. Ives and Windermere?

H

98 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1852-

The year saw the finishing of the English Fire-
side, of the cartoon of Beaiity, begun in 1849, and
of considerable alterations to the Windermere, as
well as of first sketches for the Last of England and
the Parting of Cordelia from her Sisters. The latter
picture was destined to be unpainted. The design
is identical with that of the etching in the ' Germ.'

At the Paris International Exhibition, of which
Seddon had spoken in a letter of the preceding year,
Madox Brown was represented by the Chaiicer and
the English Fireside, but their exhibition led to no
results of any importance.

During the early days of February the Madox
Browns moved from Hampstead to Grove Villas, in
Finchley, but the change does not seem to have
further benefited his spirits, and his circle remained
as circumscribed as it before had been.

In May Rossetti writes, again upbraiding Madox
Brown for his gloom of mind :—

She sends her kind regards to you, and Emma, and Katey, both
of whom I hope are all right, as well as what is left of you. But the
intensely misanthropical state in which I found you last leads me to
suspect that you may have been abolished by a general vote of your
species. If so, I drop a tear to your memory, though your faults
were many, your virtues few. I find I am still (trying to be)

Yours affectionately,

D. G. R.

And again : —

I've been long ' meaning' Finchley, and shall turn up there (in
an increased ratio of seediness) one of these days and make you
crusty, and get crusty myself, about art, as usual.

1855 OUTDOOR WORK 99

In November Rossetti paid a somewhat prolonged
visit to the family at Finchley, Brown sitting to him
for the head of the drover in Found. About the same
time Woolner returned and resumed his old friendship.

By that time Seddon had reached Egypt, and his
letters, if not frequent, were lengthy and inter-
esting : —

Old Hunt came to join me yesterday, for I have spent the
principal part of the last two months in a tomb, just at the back of
the Sphinx, away from all the petty evening bustle of an hotel.
We began in a tent, but a week's experience showed that the tomb
possessed in comfort what it lost in picturesqueness. It is a spacious
apartment 25 feet by 14 feet and about 6 feet high. My end is
matted, and I recline, dine, and sleep on a sumptuous divan con-
sisting of a pair of iron trestles with two soft boards laid across
them. . . . Since Hunt came I have not quite followed your advice,
and have done no sketches here ; but at Jerusalem I intend to do
so, and leave any parts which can be done in England to finish
there. Poor Hunt is half bothered out of his life here in painting
figures ; but, between ourselves, I think he is rather cxigcant in
expecting Arabs and Turks in this climate to sit still (standing) for
six or eight hours. Don't tell anyone this, not even Rossetti. I
think the thing is to be done easily if one were residing here and
with patience. I hope both you and Emma are quite well, and the
daughter. Remember me very kindly to them and to Rossetti, and
send me a letter soon to Jerusalem, care of the Consul. . . .

If Mr. Holman Hunt was unsparing of his models
and, presumably, of himself under the torrid K^vptian
sky, Madox Brown, painting in the raw air ' to ensure
the blue appearance that flesh assumes under such
circumstances,' was almost more so. Indeed, it is
remarkable that the artist contrived to hold his brush
under the circumstances, and it is lamentably certain

H 2

ioo LIFE OF FORD MADOX BRO\\'\ 1852-

that he sowed the seeds of subsequent illness by his
conscientiousness in this direction.

For the subject of the Last of England I will
again quote the Catalogue of the 1865 exhibition : —

This picture is, in the strictest sense, historical. It treats of the
great emigration movement, which attained its culminating point in
1852. The educated are bound to their country by closer ties
than the illiterate, whose chief consideration is food and physical
comfort. I have therefore, in order to present the parting scene in
its fullest tragic development, singled out a couple from the middle
classes, high enough, through education and refinement, to appre-
ciate all they are now giving up, and yet dignified enough in means to
have to put up with the discomforts and humiliations incident to a
vessel ' all one class.' The husband broods bitterly over blighted
hopes, and severance from all he has been striving for. The young
wife's grief is of a less cantankerous sort, probably confined to the
sorrow of parting with a few friends of early years. The circle of
her love moves with her.

The husband is shielding his wife from the sea spray with an
umbrella. Next them, in the background, an honest family of the
greengrocer kind, father (mother lost), eldest daughter and younger
children, make the best of things with tobacco-pipe and apples, &c.,
&c. Still further back, a reprobate shakes his fist with curses at the
land of his birth, as though that were answerable for his want of
success ; his old mother reproves him for his foul-mouthed profanity,
while a boon companion, with flushed countenance, and got up in
nautical togs for the voyage, signifies drunken approbation. The
cabbages slung round the stern of the vessel indicate, to the practised
eye, a lengthy voyage ; but for this their introduction would be
objectless. A cabin-boy, too used to ' laving his native land ' to
see occasion for much sentiment in it, is selecting vegetables for the
dinner out of a boatful.

This picture, begun in 1852, was finished more than nine years
ago (1855). To insure the peculiar look of light all round which
objects have on a dull day at sea, it was painted for the most part
in the open air on dull days, and, when the flesh was being painted,

1855 LANDSCAPES 101

on cold days. Absolutely without regard to the art ot any period or
country, I have tried to render this scene as it would appear. The
minuteness of detail which would be visible under such conditions
of broad daylight I have thought necessary to imitate as bringing
the pathos of the subject more home to the beholder.

This was the first picture of Madox Brown's to
which anything approaching general praise was ac-
corded. Several enthusiastic appreciations of it are
among the artist's letters received at that date, and
one of his correspondents, at least, embodied his letter
in an article for the ' Oxford and Cambridge Maga-
zine.' This was Mr. Vernon Lushington, More
tangible appreciation, in the shape of a cheque for
I5O/., came from 'Old White, the dealer, who sold it
to Windus, who sold it by auction at Christie's for
34 1/. to Flint.' This must have been all the more
cheering to Madox Brown since, just before this sale
at Christie's, the prices fetched by the Pre-Raphaelite
work owned by McCracken had been very far from
encouraging.

The intermediate works of the year were the two
landscapes of On the Jtrcut, near Ilcndon and the
Hayfield.

Regarding the former, little more comment is
needed than that of the artist himself: —

Views near London so often become ' dissolving views ' nowadays,
that I can hardly affirm that this most romantic little river is not now
arched over for ' sanitary purposes,' but ten years ago it presented
this appearance, and, once embowered in the wooded hollows of
its banks, the visitor might imagine himself a hundred miles
away. As to the I Tin-field : It was painted at Hendon late in the

102 IJI-E Or FORD MADOX BROWN 1852-

summer of 1855. The stacking of the second crop of hay had
been much delayed by rain, which heightened the green of the
remaining grass, together with the brown of the hay. The conse-
quence was an effect of unusual beauty of colour, making the hay,
by contrast with the green grass, positively red or pink, under the
glow of twilight here represented.

During this year, and that immediately succeeding
it, Madox Brown lived in singularly unostentatious
style at Grove End, Finchley. The neighbourhood
was well adapted to his requirements ; not particularly
difficult of access from town, and at the same time so
far out towards the open country as to render such a
paradise of leafage and verdure as Hendon then pre-
sented to the painter within a couple of miles' easy
walk. If Hendon did not happen to afford the exact
background that he desired, an easy stroll carried him
well out into the home counties, where a day's painting
was followed by a night at an inn.

A.n anecdote that he occasionally related had its
origin on one of these expeditions, though one of
much earlier date.

Into the bar of an inn, where Madox Brown, after
the day's work, sat chatting with the host, a burly
elderly man entered. He had all the air of an habitue^
but spoke hardly at all, and then only upon indifferent
subjects. After a time he took his candle and retired
for the night.

On Madox Brown's inquiring the old gentleman's
name, he was informed that it was also Brown, and
that he was an artist, or something of the sort.

1855 'OLD BRO\\\' 103

Turning the matter over in his mind, and rumina-
ting over the artists of his acquaintance, Madox
Brown remembered a story that was current at that
day, that Turner had taken a house at Chelsea in
order to be able to survey the fireworks at Cremorne
Gardens without paying the shilling for entrance fee,
and that amongst the watermen at the inns where he
usually drank a glass of toddy Turner adopted the
pseudonym of ' Old Brown.' ]

Under these circumstances, the features of the
Brown who had just passed from the room began to
form themselves into those of the great R.A. as they
remained in Madox Brown's mind from the portraits
he had seen. On inquiring more closely into the
habits of his namesake, Madox Brown learnt that it
was the other Brown's habit to be called at the very
break of day, and then to make a sortie from the inn
with a large roll of cartridge-paper under his arm,
after which he disappeared from the ken of the inn-
keeper. With almost pardonable curiosity Madox
Brown determined to ascertain from personal observa-
tion as much as he could of the movements of the
other Brown.

He arose betimes, not until the other had already
gone out of the inn, but, tracing him circumspectly, he
saw him seated on the dewy ground in front of an

1 I give the story as Madox Brown told it. ' Puggy Booth ' might be
nearer the mark, and the house at Chelsea may have been hired with
other views.

io4 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1852-55

open gateway, through which a large herd of cows
was being driven.

On the large sheet of paper, placed flat before
him on the ground, Turner was making what Madox
Brown styled ' extraordinary, hieroglyphic, shorthand
notes ' of the cows as they passed.

* What's more,' he would say, 'he was holding
the pencil in his fists, downwards, as if it was a dagger,
instead of in his fingers, as anyone else would have
done.'

i856

CHAPTER VII

1856

Gloominess of Madox Brown's financial outlook — Driven to pot-boiling —
\Vorks m hand— Work, Stages of Cruelty, and Cromwell on his
Farm — Reasons for Madox Brown's unsuccess — Letter from Thomas
Woolner — Madox Brown's circle — The Liverpool Academy — Letter
from B. G. Windus— Letter from Mr. Flint about Work— Rossetti at
that date — Mrs. Hueffer's reminiscences — Madox Brown's diary —
A visit from ' Old White ' the dealer — The ' manufacture of callow-
types (sic) enlarged' — Rossetti's work in hand described — Drawing
from a dead body — Hunt's Christ in the Temple — Millais' Autumn
Leaves and the Blind Girl — Woolner' s Tennyson — Appreciation
of Rossetti's generosity — Royal Academy Exhibition — Hunt's Scape-
goat— Localising Lord John Russell— Visit to St. Ives— :Cromwell's
county — His branding iron — Fresh subjects for pictures — Out-door
work— W. B. Scott's 'Table-talk '—Alterations in Christ and Peter -
Painting lilac leaves — 'Dining at Hunt's' — An Academic model —
VVoolner's anecdotes — William Morris — Christ and Peter finished —
Woolner's Bacon — Suggesting alterations — Praise of Rossetti —
Christ and l^ctcr gains Liverpool prize — Visit to Liverpool —Peter
Miller— William Davis, of Liverpool — Visit to Browning — Browning's
anecdotes— Carlyle's Music, £c.— Rossetti's five minutes— First
appearance of gout — Mr. Flint— Commission for Work.

DURING this year and the two years immediately fol-
lowing- it I have been able to avail myself of the diary
of Madox Brown. Whether unposted or subsequently
destroyed it remains a three-year fragment I pro-
pose, therefore, after a rapid sketch of the year, to
cite it almost /// cxtcnso.

106 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1856

The year opened somewhat gloomily for Madox
Brown's professional, or, rather, financial prospects.
His important works being laid aside for want of
patrons, his only purchaser was the dealer named
White, whose purchases were small and disburse-
ments parsimonious. Of his private property there
remained little save a life-rent of some 3<D/. yearly.

Thus, with indigence, if not with absolute poverty,
staring him in the face, he was forced to resort to the
aid of the avowed ' pot-boiler.' This consisted of
' helping at Messrs. Dickinson's portrait manufactory
from callowtypes (sic) enlarged.'

The work was not actually degrading. Madox
Brown's part was to 'pull the pictures together,'
another artist doing the actual enlarging ; and
even in this species of work Madox Brown's indi-
viduality insisted upon recognition, if not approval,
as was the case with the portrait of Lord John
Russell, to which reference is made in the diary.
The portraits were mostly presentation or memorial
pictures, the individuals represented being either dead
or too busy to sit to the artist. Many of them were
people of considerable eminence, but that fact rendered
the work by no means less distasteful. At the
moment, however, he had no other resource.

His magnum opus, Work, was a picture calling for
too much labour to be set out upon uncommissioned,
and, having got it once on the easel, he was con-
strained to leave it for the time.

1856 f 'NCOMMISSIONED 107

The same may be said of Stages of Cruelty,
which, being laid by in this year, was not completed
until 1891. This may be called Madox Brown's most
Pre-Raphaelite work ; individuality of the present-
ment of the subject, minuteness of finish, and absolute
truth to Nature are forced to the uttermost. As will
be seen in the diary, an enormous amount of work was
expended on the painting' of the lilac leaves, of which
there are some hundred, each one carefully reproduced
in the most minute detail. But the picture was
severe and constrained in spite of its purposely senti-
mental subject, and the subject militated against its
success among the purchasers of historic pictures.
Thus it remained unfinished and unsold for thirty-five
years, a monument of severe handling and patience.
In the year 1891 it was commissioned and finished, a
certain romance being to be found in the fact that the
head of the little girl in the picture which had been
commenced as a portrait of the artist's own daughter
was completed as that of her child.

The most important and perhaps most character-
istic picture of the year was that known as St. /rr.v,
or Cromwell on his Farm, which had been com-
menced at Hendon three years before, and which
has already been referred to. This, however, also
remained unsold.

Admirers, and still more purchasers, of Pre-Ra-
phaelite works were at that date few and far between,
and Madox Brown's work of that date was altogether

io8 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1856

Pre-Raphaelite. A quality even more disastrous,
financially speaking, was his attitude of reserve and
dislike of anything savouring of reclame. I quote
from a letter of Woolner's of September the follow-
ing apposite remarks (as will be seen, Woolner has
been trying to procure a commission for Madox
Brown) : —

MY DEAR F. M., — ... I saw Sir Charles Nicholson this morn-
ing, and, Ichabod ! Ichabod ! I asked if he had decided upon who
should paint his portrait, and he said it was already half done.
Some dreadful man named Philips has the job. The enemy tri-
umphs once more. It appears that some friend of Nicholson's knew
Philips, and strongly urged him to patronise that artist as a rising
young man. Thus, you see, it is a mere matter of having been
known to Nicholson's friends ; and I am convinced, unless an artist
go somewhat into society, he can never get the opportunity to
develop himself, the more particularly with a superior man, as his
notions will be so much above the average comprehension. I think
one owes something to himself in way of personal dignity, but I also
think he owes something to himself and posterity, and should
sacrifice himself a little and conform to what he knows (to be)
trifling and paltry in itself for sake of the advantages he will derive
in being able to unfold what is in him. To unfold what is in him
is a man's first duty, and if he have to walk through miry ways to
reach his goal, the fault is with those who made the ways foul, not
with the traveller whose work is another kind. I am the last to find
fault with one who joins not in the maypole dance of fashion, still I
think to neglect anything that will help to bring forth the riches God
has given a man will not leave him altogether guiltless. And what
you should do is to live in London, some central place, and mix to
some degree in society, even though it may be disastrous to you ;
and in a year or two, if you looked back upon the difference
between the now and the past, you yourself would be more
astonished than any other person would be. This is the most
valuable lecture you have had for years. I am glad to give it to you

1856 FRIENDS 109

in revenge for having found no holes to pick in your picture on
Sunday, and therefore poke points into your daily life.

Ever yours,

THOMAS WOOLM K.

As may be leathered from Woolner's letter, Madox
Brown's method of living had altered very little during
four or five years. He still lived in an almost un-
attainable suburb, and, although he did not actually
withdraw himself from all society, he saw hardly any-
body who was not immediately connected with the
artistic ' set ' with whom he was intimate. These
intimates were, first and foremost, the brothers
Rossetti ; in a lesser degree the Pre-Raphaelites
Hunt, Woolner, Millais, and Stephens. These, with
the addition of the brothers Seddon, Mark Anthony,
the Dickinsons, Cave Thomas, and the distinguished
surgeon, John Marshall, all of them friends of Tudor
Lodge days, may be said to have made up the
circle.

Such society, although more than adequate to
stave off attacks of melancholia, did not introduce him
into the moneyed class among which picture-buyers
are to be found. Nevertheless, in spite of every one's
advice, Madox Brown persisted in his method of
living ; and although, as greater prosperity came to
him, his circle grew and he moved to Fitzroy Square,
his friends remained chiefly members of the intellectual
classes. At no period of his life was he a ' diner-
out ' or a frequenter of the fashionable drawing-rooms

no LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1856

which form the Tom Tiddler's ground of so many suc-
cessful artists.

In September the first public recognition of
Maclox Brown's work was accorded, when the Liver-
pool Academy conferred its prize upon the picture of
Jesus Washes Peter s Feet. This honour was the more
valuable as coming from a body constituted entirely of
artists, in which it differed from most provincial acade-
mies, which need, as a rule, the support of unprofes-
sional moneyed men in their ranks. In a letter to D. G.
Rossetti, which Rossetti forwarded to Madox Brown,
W. L. Windus, the painter of Burd Helen, says :—

I have not sent it (Burd Helen] to the Liverpool Exhibition, as
I heard there was an intention to write it down in the local press,
which, although powerless for good in matters of art, possesses
peculiarly the faculty of annoyance and irritation, and remarkable
skill in discovering and rubbing upon tender places. My being a
member of the Liverpool Academy, and, as such, one of the
awarders of the prize, precludes me from being a candidate for it ;
but had it been otherwise, I should not for a moment have thought
of contending against such a picture as either of Mr. Madox
Brown's. The Last of England is a noble picture, and would
certainly have gained the prize had he not sent the Christ and
Peter, or, probably, if the latter picture had not arrived at the last
moment and carried us away by its simple grandeur and energetic
colour. I am greatly delighted, as one of the few who have fought
the good fight (this expression has scarcely been metaphorical) for
Pre-Raphaelitism, by your and Mr. Holman Hunt's recognition of our
efforts.

We have succeeded thus far, but more by our enthusiasm in the
cause than by our numbers, and we require all the assistance that
the Pre-Raphaelite Brothers can give by sending us pictures to
maintain our position. You may judge how closely we are run in

1856 LIVERPOOL ACADEMY in

the contest by the fact that the loss of my vote by my absence in
Scotland last year was the reason of Millais' picture of the Rescue
not getting the pri/e.

The comments of the local press upon the selec-
tion of the Academy were even more hostile than they
would probably have been had the choice lighted on
Burd Helen ; and when, in the following" year, their
prize was awarded to Millais' lUind Girl, the battle:
spread further even than the local papers.

In the 'Athenaeum' it was stated that the Liver-
pool Academy had purchased Pre-Raphaelite works,
and merely awarded the prize to works of the same
school in order to raise the value of their own posses-
sions. This, it is needless to say, was a quite unfounded
statement. But, although the calumny was confuted
by letters from William Rossetti and Vernon Lushing-
ton, the Corporation of the city on these grounds de-
termined to, and did, deprive the Academy of its grant
from the city funds. In spite of this the Academy
next year awarded the prize to Madox Brown's picture
of Chaucer at the Court of Iidwetrd III. Apart from
the pleasure, the solid gain, and the congratulation of
friends, the immediate result of the first-mentioned
prize was the long-desired commission for the com-
pletion of the picture of Work.

This commission, which came in a letter dated
November 17, and following a conversation of the
preceding day, has a certain pathetic interest attaching
to it. Flint, the giver of it, in addition to being one

ii2 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1856

of the earliest of a series of munificent patrons of
Madox Brown, and indeed of the group, was a man of
an earnest and religious turn of mind. He looked
upon the picture as destined to effect an important
moral, almost more than an artistic, revolution of
thought. The closing words of his letter are : ' I
hope we may both, in God's mercy, be spared to see
it happily finished,' and he awaited its conclusion with
anxiety, but was never destined to see it finished,
dying almost two years before its completion. He
entered very fully into the spirit of the work, and his
letters are full of anxious queries and suggestions
about its progress. I will cite one passage, interesting
as showing how the idea contained in it was carried
out : —

Nov. 24, 1856.

MY DEAR SIR, — I have your most interesting letter. Could you
introduce both Carlyle and Kingsley, and change one of the four
fashionable young ladies into a quiet, earnest, ^/y-looking one, with
a book or two and tracts ? I want this put in, for I am much inter-
ested in this work myself, and know those who are. Now I wish you
to be FULLY SATISFIED in your own mind. Think this matter over,
and excuse me asking you

About the same time D. G. Rossetti was in the
habit of coming daily to Finchley and working in
Madox Brown's studio, a fact that exercised a very
enlivening influence on Madox Brown himself. Ros-
setti was at that time, and indeed for many years after,
a most excellent companion, with absolutely none of the
affected sestheticism which is popularly laid to the charge

1856 ROSSETTI 113

of members of the Brotherhood. His personality and
tone of mind were singularly virile, if by no means
wanting in idiosyncratic turns and twists.

Mrs. Hueffer, who was at the time sitting for the
child in the picture of Stages of Cruelty, relates that
whilst standing before his easel in the silence of the
studio he passed the time uttering- over and over
again the words, ' Guggum, Guggum ' — a pet name for
Miss Siddall. His introduction to Mrs. Hueffer was,
however, not calculated to give her a prejudice in his
favour, for she relates that whilst walking in the
garden she was startled by seeing a singularly hideous
face peering at her through the glass door of the
studio. This was Rossetti, whose powers of con-
triving amusement for a child do not seem in this
matter to have equalled his control of the organs of
his face. His recipe for the cure of nettle-stings,
by rubbing them with loaf-sugar, did not raise him in
her esteem for the moment, but his companionship, in
addition to the commission for the picture of Work,
rendered Madox Brown's outlook on life far more
hopeful at the end than at the beginning of the year.

Having touched upon these one or two points,
which the diary leaves somewhat doubtfully defined, I
will proceed to quote it at length.

Madox Krowii s Diary, 1856.

' fan nary 2jt/i. — . . . For want of a book I have
omitted entries since the 6th inst. During this time I

i .4 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROll'X 1856

have worked two whole weeks at the reduction of King
Lear, besides one evening, also one morning, also
one good day at the Hayfield. On Monday, White 1-
called, but did not like the latter — said the hay was
pink, and he had never seen such. He seemed doubt-
ful about the Lear, said he would call again in a few
clays if I would make Kent's head and one of the
officers' and Cordelia's hands less red. He did not
seem to have his wonted Man, but ended by taking the
pencil King Lear for 6/. 6s., minus 25 per cent, which
I always allow him on the price. I succeeded in
taking him to see Tom Seddon's picture. He liked it
very much but did not buy. After this he had not
time to go to Woolner's, as he promised me ; moreover,
he did not pay for the Chaucer picture, 45/. of which
still owing he was to have paid on receiving it from
Paris.

* Tuesday. — I did what he wished to the King Lear,
and after called on the Rossettis, having a mind to try
if Maria would undertake Lucy's - education instead
of sending her to school. The room was too full to
talk, and Bill,a with a man named Clayton, jawed so
nauseously about Ruskin and art, that I felt quite dis-
gusted and said nothing. On Wednesday, as I was
debating what to begin, Robert Dickinson came in,
and proposed that I should help at the manufactory of
callowtypes (sic) enlarged, three days per week at
one guinea a day, to be done at Lowes D.'s studio.

1 The picture dealer. 2 His daughter's. :i W. M. Rossetti.

1856 'OLD WHITE' ii 5

I said I would think it over, and in the evening called
on Lowes, and am to begin on Monday, to-morrow.

1 Thursday. — White came, and after much moaning
over my brick-dusty colour, took off King I. car for
2O/., also the study for the head of the Black Prince,
which I painted in 1848 from Maitland, in sunlight
(indoors). The face was done in half an hour, the
hair and cap, from the wig of the lay figure, took, I
think, two days ; I afterwards worked on it about one
hour at Hampstead in 1852, after it had been kicking
about four years. For this he gave me also 6/. 6^.,
minus quarter discount. Then he would have Ros-
setti's Lovers on the Battlement^ which he painted in
two evenings at W. B. Scott's, at Newcastle. I took
it in lieu of a debt of 5/. 8s. At first I demurred at
parting with it, but White offered io/. and insisted,
so I went off to Rossetti's, and told him if he had no
objection I would part with it, paying him over 5/.
and keeping the five for which I took it. He agreed,
nothing loth to the five pun, but generously insisted
that I should keep it in part payment of the i5/. he owed
me, which I rejoined that I certainly would ; so I took
it to Old White, who requested me to call again in ten
minutes, which I did, but then found Barlow, the
engraver, there, so, after an hour's jaw, I left to dine
with Gabriel off a lobster. He is at work on two
drawings in water ; as usual, both threaten to be: admir-
able. One is a monkish missal-painter at work on
his knees in his cell. A boy behind is teasing a cat

n6 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1856

which has nestled itself among the folds of his habit,
he having been so long motionless at his work. The
other is a ladye and a knight praying before an
altar. He offers his sword, and she fixes her sleeve
on his basnet. Overhead, in the distance, is seen a
" blacke tower," and beside it a blacke knight, mounted,
waiting with his lance in rest for the combat. These
two together form an admirable picture of the world
of our fathers with its chief characteristics — religion,
art, chivalry, and love. His forte, and he seems now
to have found it out, is to be a lyrical painter and poet,
and certainly a glorious one.

' Friday. — I called on White by appointment, but
he was out, so I came home and set to work to think
over my Christmas subject, which, along with Crom-
well on his Farm, I have decided are to be my works
for the next thirteen months. I forget whether I have
mentioned as yet about this subject. It occurred to
me on Christmas eve, as we were putting up holly in
the parlour (or drawing-room) for —

At this point four pages of the diary are mutilated,
having been torn down the centre, so as to leave only
half lines. From these I have been able to gather
that the picture, which was never executed, was to have
represented Mrs. Madox Brown seated in a chair sur-
rounded by her children, who have just been admitted
through the folding-doors of the drawing-room.

There are also fragments of a description of Crom-
on his Farm, but the words are too disjointed to

1856 1THE PLAY' 117

be very comprehensible. The next entry after the gap
is on February 14.

' To Dickinson again. Painted at the chair, bon-
net, and shawls. Came home and went with Km mo.1
to the Rossettis to dine. After dinner we definitely
agreed about Lucy. Mrs. R. consented to take 4o/.
per annum — a blessed thing for Lucy.'2

' i $tk. — To Lowes D.'s before ten ; the shawl and
part of the " trenches before Sevastopol."

' \6t/i. — The same. Painted lot of sandbags, two
men, and a great gun. Gabriel off with Lowes to
clivers exhibitions. At dinner Gabriel called and
stopped till 2 A.M.

* i8M. — Somehow the day wasted, perhaps I worked
a little at Cromwell. After play tickets, but was too
late. In the evening Secldon and Fred Warren came
to discuss the affairs of the North London School.

As I would be glad to hit "low" the scoundrel ,

I agreed to be on the committee again, if it wrere
remodelled and the school rescued from the throttling
grasp of Government.

' iqtk. — All day after the tickets for the Princess's
Theatre. In the evening went there to the dress circle
with Rmma, and the two children, and William Ros-
setti ; Gabriel, who had chiefly made up the party,
decided that he could not go because he must go

1 Mrs. Madox Brown.

'* It is to be said that this sum was only the equivalent of the child's
board, Mrs. Rossetti refusing to receive any payment for her instruction.

THE PRISONERS OF CHILLON." 1856.

1856 A CORPSE 119

has done, to fit them for the snow effect. The worst
of it is, people cannot be kept out of the studio, and so
everyone will know I am daubing for them, which is
horrid. Oh, money !

' \$th. — Out shopping; then to University Hospital
to ask John Marshall about a dead body. He got me
one that will just do. It was in the vault under the
dissectinff-room. When I saw it first, what with the

o

dim light, the brown and parchment-like appearance
of it, and the shaven head, I took it for a wooden
imitation of the thing. Often as I have seen horrors,
I really did not remember how hideous the shell of a
poor creature may remain when the spirit is fled. Yet
we both, in our joy at the attainment of what we
sought, declared it to be lovely, and a splendid corpse.
Marshall really loves a thing of the kind. Home again
by five in the evening — Bill, Anthony, Rossetti, and
Stephens, also Seddon. All conversation seems used
up, no more the genial flow of soul as in youth. How
inferior middle-aged people seem !

4 i^th. — To the University till half-past ten. Got
on quite merrily, and finished it two hours before it
was obligate on me. As I was going, met Marshall,
who could not keep away from the sweets of the
charnel-house.

' i5///. — Up late ; to work about one till half-past
three, then to see Stephens, and Hunt, and Halliday.
Stephens' picture a progress evidently. Hunt's are,
without doubt, the finest he has done yet. The Christ

120 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1856

in the Temple is one of the grandest works of modern
times, and the L ant horn-maker also is a lovely little
work, but ill-drawn. Hunt has at length decided
against private exhibiting again, so that is all knocked
on the head after so much jaw. I don't know what to
do. . . .

'April i ith. — . ... I had an interview withWindus
at White's, where it was decided not to send the Emi-
grants l to the Royal Academy. I have seen Rossetti's
last drawing — Love showing Dante Beatrice dead, in a
Vision — the finest he has yet done. I saw Millais'
picture of the year, Autumn Leaves — the finest in
painting and colour he has yet done, but the subject
somewhat without purpose, and looking like portraits.
He was in a very excited state, bullied Inchbold in
earnest for looking at them disrespectfully — he, a
young man. Inchbold, it seems, was very cheeky ;
Leward in a state of awe ; Millais abusing everyone ;
Hunt, because he has waited his time (this was to
Lowes) ; Rossetti, for getting an immense reputation,
and having done nothing to deserve it ; and me for not
sending to the Royal Academy. What could anyone
say against the Royal Academy? (this was to Seddon).
His large picture is, I believe, sold to Miller for a
thousand guineas. I don't like it much ; the subject is
stupidish and the colour bad, but some of the expres-
sions beautiful and lovely parts. . . . The Blind Girl
is altogether the finest subject — a religious picture and

1 Last of England.

1856 ROSSETTI'S WORK 121

a glorious one. It is a pity he has so scamped the
execution.1 Woolner's bust of Tennyson is fine, but
hard and disagreeable. Somehow there is a hitch in
Woolner as a sculptor. The capabilities for execution
do not go with his intellect.

' Wednesday. — I finished the drawing on wood
of the Prisoner of Chilian . . . Robert D. wished me
to go and see the portrait of Colonel de Bathe at
Bond Street, where he had some alterations to suggest ;
and what should I see but the picture all daubed over
with water-colour and pieces of newspaper stuck over
it to get the proper effect with gradations and focus,
&c. He wished me to alter it all according to his
plan. I saw Millais again at Leward's on Monday.
He showed me proofs of a dozen woodcuts he had
done, most of them very beautifully drawn and full of
beauties, but scarcely illustrations to Tennyson. He
proposed that he should get Moxon to give me some
to do, but this proposition was forgotten unfortunately.
1 found he was adverse to going to Rossetti's. He
first said R. had shown him nothing for three years,
and he thought did not want him to go. However,
1 got him to go to Chatham Place with me, and
certainly I never witnessed a mortal man more de-
lighted than he was with these admirable drawings,
the last one particularly; also the Francesca one and
the two lovers, set to two notes of music, regardless of
rhyme or reason. He kept returning from one to the

1 This is, I suppose, a P.R.'s objection.

122 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1856

other, and bursting into such raptures as only Millais
can.

'Monday, 2\st. — Directed Seddon nearly all the
morning — then out with Emma. Called on Dalziel,
who had sent me a cheque for 8/. Found that he
wished me to put a slashed sleeve on the arm of the
prisoner, to give him a more mediaeval look. I worked
at the block in consequence, but I think harmed it.

' Wednesday, 2$rd. — Painted all day at Seddon's sky
in the Pyramids. A rash thing, but I believe I did it
some good, if on drying it does not spoil itself. Alto-
gether, I think I have made him improve the general
colour of the picture.

* Thursday, 2^th. — To the Crystal Palace with
Emma. Met, by appointment, Tom Seddon and
Gabriel, and well looked at the tracings from Giotto,
which, as I had seen the works in Italy, seemed to me
very bad. However, they are glorious pictures. The
kiss of Judas, the Virgin Mary, and the dead Christ
strike me as the most complete in expression.

* Saturday, 26th. — To-day I have

bought ten penny cakes of water-colour, and have
been all day and this evening colouring the pencil-
drawing of Cromwell. It does not look well in its
present state.

' Monday. — With J. Millais to the Royal Academy.
He said he supposed the reason of Hunt's success was
that before doing anything whatever he always held a
sort of little council with himself, in accordance with

1856 MISS SIDDALL 123

which he acted. This is very true, I believe. Milhiis
is, on the contrary, the creature of impulse.

' Wednesday i A fay \^th. — Miss Siddall came here
and stayed the night, and next day to Miss Siddall's,
where, going along, met with Gabriel, who came think-
ing to find her here. It appears (from some freak or
notion in his head that Emma sets Miss Siddall against
him) he did not speak one word to Emma, either how
d'ye do or good-bye. I did not notice this, but on
Emma's telling me about it next day, I thought it would
not do to put up with this, so wrote to him asking for
an explanation, which is yet not come to hand. I put
this down, not from any wish to be always giving the
unpleasant side of him, but because I think him, as I
hope it sufficiently appears in this diary, so great an
artist that anything tending to give a correct insight
into his character is, as it were, public property, and
should not be withheld, but I will give some of the
bright side here on this page to balance with.

' No one ever perhaps showed such a vehement dis-
position to proclaim any real merit if he thinks he
discovers it in an unknown or rising artist. A picture
in the Suffolk Street (exhibition) of a butcher boy, by
I forget whom, struck him as good, and he not only
tried to get Ruskin and Boyce to purchase it, but got
Dallas to give it a good notice in the "Times," and would
have done the Lord knows what for the man had it
been in his power. The picture sold, owing, most
likely, to his disinterested praise of it to J )allas. Again,

i24 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1856

the picture by Windus now in the Royal Academy.
He forced Ruskin to go with him to see it instanter,
because he had not noticed it in his pamphlet, and
extorted the promise of a postscript on its behalf. He
would have made Boyce purchase it, but it proved to
be sold. I could narrate a hundred instances of the
most noble and disinterested conduct towards his
art- rivals,1 which places him far above (others) in his
greatness of soul, and yet he will, on the most trivial
occasion, hate and backbite anyone who gives him
offence. The dislike he has taken to Emma is most
absurd, and all on the grounds that she puts Miss
Siddall up to being discontented with him, which she
does not, for poor Miss Sid. complains enough of his
absurd goings on not to require that sort of thing. In
short, Emma was his very good friend till this sort of
brutish conduct the other night, which it is difficult to
overlook. Woolner was here to-night, and has brought
me one of the two side groups of his Wordsworth
sketch : The Father Curbing the Passions of the Boy.
It is admirable, as a design for sculpture, beyond most
modern works.

' Sunday. — Gabriel sent a letter of apology, and in
the evening came with Miss Siddall.

' Monday. — Worked two hours at Lord,- and then
took it home in a cab. Left Emma at Miss Sid.'s,

1 An instance of this is to be found in Mr. Skelton's Table Talk of
Shirley. In one of Rossetti's letters there published we find him enthusi-
astic in praise of Madox Brown's exhibition.

- A portrait of Lord John Russell.

1856 ROYAL ACADEMY 125

and off solus to the Royal Academy. Went over it
all, catalogue in hand, from No. i to the end. Very
little good but three historical works, and they not
very o-ood — Leigh ton,1 Cross, and Thomas. Hunt2
and Millais :{ unrivalled except by Hook, 4 who, for
colour and indescribable charm, is pre-eminent, even
to hujL^'inj^ him in one's arms. A perfect poem
is each of his little pictures. Millais' looks ten times
better than in his room, owing to contrast with sur-
rounding badness. Hunt's Scapegoat requires to be
seen to be believed in. Only then can it be under-
stood how, by the might of genius, out of an old goat,
and some saline incrustations, can be made one of the
most tragic and impressive works in the annals of art.
In pictorial composition the work sins, however, the
o'oat being right in the middle of the canvas, and the
two sides repeating each other too much, which is
always painful, and gives a studied appearance, a de-
fect arising from the lack of study. The background
also is, at present, hard in colour, and eats up the fore-
ground. Millais' HI hid Girl looked splendid. There
is a little landscape by Davis, of Liverpool, of some
leafless trees and some ducks, which is perfection. I
do not remember ever having seen such an English
landscape ; it is far too good to be understood, and is
on the floor. Supped at Guggum's. Gabriel has given

1 The late President's Triumph of Music.

- The Scapegoat. 3 Sir Isitmbras at the Ford.

1 Uramblex in the Way, Welcome Bonny Boat, £c.

i26 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROll'X 1856

three guineas for a superb Indian opera cloak, and they
are for .the Princess's, to sport her and it on Satur-
day.

' Saturday. — Out with Emma shopping ; spent lot
of tin. Met Robert Dickinson, in a way about Lord
John, because I had made him sitting in a room.
Everyone asks why and where he is sitting ? and that
it ought to be a generalised place. I told him I could
not paint such, I never could. Came home and felt
ill. Read Macaulay. I love Dutch William.

4 Sunday. — Emma went to church with Lucy, looking
like an angel in her new bonnet. I worked again at
Cromwell, and in the evening to Woolner's, where
I met Patmore and Allingham (intellect keen and
cutting). . . .

' Thursday, July ^th. — Started for Huntingdon at
two, to see the Cromwell localities. Saw the entry of
his baptism when he was a small squalling baby and
helpless. Lunched on bread and cheese and ale, and
a pleasant walk to St. Ives through the field near the
Ouse, on a lovely afternoon. Met a man lounging
near the Ouse who was intelligent and obliging, and
took me to the divers localities in the place. Slepe
Hall has been pulled down, alas! but the farm where
his men used to reside, most likely, exists — at least a
house, or rather two, stand there, of modern build,
with a noble buttressed barn of the period. There is
also another " Cromwell " barn still older, but not so
likely to have been his. This gentleman told me

[856 CRO.\n\'Eu:s COUNTRY 127

his former partner was the farmer who still used
Cromwell's branding iron to brand his sheep. He

made me a drawing of it; it is thus: fcpj. This being

used with hot pitch, is it possible that the iron might
have lasted 200 years ? Carlyle is evidently mistaken
about the Cromwell fields, which he places to the
south-east of the town, between it and the Ouse.
This gentleman, who was well versed in the topo-
graphy of the place, said that this part never belonged
to Slepe Manor at all. Before Cromwell's time, and
even to the present moment (they) were and are
the property of another family. Slepe Manor, the
fields which Oliver had, went round from Slepe Hall,
which was on the X.K. of the town, and so right
round to the X. bank of the river. I slept at the Com-
mercial Inn, and next morning went to the farm and
explored the land, but found that Huntingdon could
not by any possibility be seen from St. Ives, and
now certainly not on account of the growth of trees.
Carlyle speaks much of the willow and alder ; in
reality, but for a good many of the former the scenery
is much like any other, although more; level than usual
in England. However, to destroy this levelling ten-
dency there is right between Cromwell's farm and
Huntingdon a good-sized slope or hillock, which they
term the Hough, which tends much to counteract the
impression of flatness. The view of St. Ives from the
Hough is very sweet and pictorial. The river, with

128 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1856

the picturesque old bridge (with house am id way on it),
combine, with the church and a large factory shaft, to
form a scene such as Turner has so often depicted
with satisfaction to himself and others, of old England
and new England combined. Behind all is the fen
country stretching away into blue mist with Dutch-
like suavity and breadth.

1 1 went to the farm, but the gentleman was away,
and the stupid servant knew nothing, but sent me to
a woman in the next house, who took me through the
dungyard to find her husband ; but after bawling for
him in vain, left me to wait for him. As nothing of
him appeared except some inarticulate human grunt-
ing from an outhouse outside of which two old sows
were running about in a terribly perturbed state,
uttering fearful squalls, which were replied to by un-
utterable squeakings from within, I made bold to open
the door, when out rushed, furious as an old boar, my
man. A most hideous looking fellow he was — all
boils, like Job, and very bloody, with a knife in his
mouth. He was, it would seem, slaughtering young
pigs, and I had disturbed him at his art, for which he
would appear to be an enthusiast. I left him and
strolled over the ground, and secured a slight sketch
of the barn, and then off by rail to Cambridge.
There, wandered much about, but found my money
running short, and the sight of so much wealth and
comfort made me sulky by comparison. So I took no
guide nor asked any questions, but came home.

1856 NEW SUBJECTS 129

• Thursday, func ig/h. — Out to Old White's, who had
sent for the sketch to see and show to Windus. The
result was, that instead of buying it, he strongly recom-
mended me not to paint it. Nothing that I do seems
to please him now. I came home and debated what I
was to do. By Friday night I settled upon two fresh
subjects. One — in the garden, a young lady seated
on the wall working, and a youth's head just visible on
the far side, to be called Stolen Pleasures are Sweet.1
The other — in my conservatory, with the beautiful vine
in it — three figures — to be called How it was. A
youth, quite a boy, home from the Crimea, with but
one arm, narrating to a poor young widow " how it
was," and a young girl, his sister, hugging him.

'Saturday, 2isl. — After some bother and delays,
began by three and worked till eight at the garden
one ; painted eight bricks and some leaves.

'Monday, 2$rd. — Up at nine, to work by eleven,
having fitted up my tent in the garden, for I find one
thing very necessary when painting out of doors, and
that is to shade off the too great light that falls on
one's work, otherwise, when brought indoors, it looks
flat and colourless, the colours showing more bright in
the open air. Painted lilac leaves till four o'clock
dinner, then toothache on the sofa till six, then work
till seven, and toothache drove me in.

1 28M.— W. B. Scott called. Talked about the
heat making one feel like in Paradise ; then about the

1 Afterwards Stages of Cruelty.

K

130 LIFE OF FORD MADQX BROWN 1856

changes that had come over him in twenty years,
since the time when he believed in the efficacy of
reason, the perfectibility of woman, and Mary Wool-
stonecraft. In the evening Woolner called, and told
me about poor Howe reduced to beggary literally. . . .

' 2Q///. — Cogitated over my Christ and Peter ;
decided on nothing.

' 30//1 —I made a list of what days then remained
till the Liverpool Academy on a piece of paper, and
allowing time to finish the leaves, which must be done
(otherwise they would fade), I decided that I had
time to clothe the Christ, then that His legs were of
no use, then that it was a pity to scrape them out as
they were good ; so I cut them out, the picture being
already lined, glued in a piece of canvas, and puttied
it up.

'July 6tk. — To church with Lucy ; then worked at
Peter's green mantle, improving the colour, for since
1851-2 I have improved at that; but Hunt, and
Woolner, and William came in and stopped me.
They two went off to Browning's, and Hunt stayed
and told me about the B— - of Jerusalem, who seems
to be one of the meanest scoundrels not yet in h— - ;
then about his sale of the Scapegoat to White for
450 guineas at three months' date. . . . Painted at
Peter's cloak till dinner ; then the leaves. At eight
last night I set to work on the proof of Dalziel's
Prisoner of Chilian, and worked till three at it.

. — Finished Peter's cloak ; then scraped the

STUDY FOR "STAGES OF CRUELTY." 1856.

(Catherine Madox Brown.)
(From original in possession of the writer.)

1856 LILAC LEAVES 131

leaves with razor and set them to rights front feeling
indoors, then out at them again.

1 lot/i. — Set the lay figure among the leaves, to
paint those which touch the figure, and went on
with it.

' i \th. — Bad toothache at night. Began work.
Found the lay figure would wet, as it rained, and if
required for many days might be much deteriorated,
so made a substitute out of a child's chair and some
old cushions, with the head of the lay figure. This
does quite as well, and remains on the wall.

4 iSM. — The leaves again.

'Saturday, \<^th. — A great deal of trouble in
arranging the leaves at the side of the head, pinning
on fresh ones where they are blighted, and placing the
branches where they are pressed to one side.

'Sunday, 2Otk. — Church with Lucy; worked at
designing the two lovers from self and Lucy in a
glass, Lucy being atop of the piano.

' 24///. — The leaves again ; a bad day's work. I
don't know why, but I feel restless and unhappy.
Christina Rossetti called ; she is reading Carlyle with
her mother. Tom Secldon called with his little picture
to show me. This evening wrote Hunt, who has
been sent away to Hastings with Syrian fever. Poor
fellow ! he works too hard.

'Monday, 2*&th. — Secldon took me away to Hunt's,
to go boating, by agreement ; but dinner was laid, and
Hunt made no mention of the boat, and Seddon was

K 2

I32 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1856

afraid to remind him. Saw Hunt's Lanthorn Maker,
which is lovely colour and one of the best he has
painted, but, like much he has done of late, very
quaint in drawing and composition, but admirably
painted. was there, looking most syren-like.

Hunt went off to put her on board the boat to go
home to Chelsea, and I with him, not understanding
the dinner was served. When we came back Halli-
day and Seddon had begun, as it appears Hunt makes
a rule of running out for something just as dinner has
been waiting ten minutes, much to Halliday's disgust.

' igth. — Finished Peter ; in the evening fetched a
model.

4 30//&. — The brute of a model — a huge Acade-
mician, with a beard and muscles all over, like all
Academy models — was too stiff to take any pose but
the Apollo Belvidere. Sent him off after seeing how
Seddon's Arab shirt (guild] looked on him as Christ
kneeling.

'August yd. —Painted from eleven to eight at the
shirt, as before. I now find I have made the legs
under it too long from the knee downwards, having
begun it without drawing them in from Nature. I
have only got 22O/. in all now, that is if - - does not
cheat me out of part of the 44/. owing to me, and
including io/. owing to me by Gabriel. ... I trust
fortune will favour me in the affair of the Liverpool
prize, or I fear it will go hard with Emma and the
chicks.

1856 THOMAS WOOLNER 133

1 ^th. — I spent the whole day thinking of the gene-
ral colour of the picture, and trying it with patches of
ribbon, &c. Very much disgusted. Painted \hz gitlla
green, and scraped out the part of the body where the
body of the dress comes. Seddon brought me his
little picture finished. It is really very beautiful.
Then Tommy Woolner entered, and we spent the
evening smoking, tea-ing, chatting, and supping. It
seems that all hope of the joo-guinea portrait is not
used up yet, but it wanes. The man, it appears,
dislikes Pre-Raphaelites and smells a rat. Tommy
Woolner entertained us with many highly wrought
anecdotes, one of which I had witnessed myself,
although he did not seem to remember, and I had an
opportunity of testing the quantity of colouring matter
superadded, which seems to be considerable. To
another, I declare, he superadded comments which I
remember myself having made, at a former hearing of
the narration as part of the tale as it was told to him.

' August 24///. — Yesterday Rossetti brought his
ardent admirer Morris, of Oxford, who bought my little
f/ayfield for 4O/. He has also brought Browning
round, who, it appears, is a great admirer of me. This
was kind of Gabby. I have been all this time hard
at the Christ and Peter. It must be done by next
Saturday, as I promised. I have sent to Liverpool
five pictures : The Last of England, Mother and
Child, small King Lear, sketch of Cordelia, and the
Brent.

i34 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1856

' September ist. — This morning I have finished
sending off the Christ and Peter. It was completed on
Saturday. Packed it Sunday night, and, it being wet,
covered it with calico, which I bought for it. <( Bought,
my dear sir ! " as Old White says. I nailed it up tight,
and pasted paper over the edges to keep out the dust,
so careful am I ! Since the 24th I have been hard at
the Christ and Peter day and night too, quite ex-
hausted, and obliged to take wine to keep me up.
Two days I was interrupted by going to Woolner's to
see his statue of Bacon, which was very fine in design,
but looked too short. The first time I hinted to him
pretty plainly what I thought, and got him to alter it
slightly ; but, fearing he would not sufficiently, I pro-
posed to Gabriel that we should go together, and
insist upon the head being made smaller and the
body longer. Rossetti said he would come, but I must
be spokesman, as he funked it.1 However, while I
was looking at the statue and thinking how to begin,
Rossetti, who, by the way, had all along before sworn
the statue was perfect, blurts out, " I say, that chap's
too short, I certainly think." In this delicate way he
broke the ice, and we began in earnest. At last

1 As a confirmation of Madox Brown's statement that it was his own
courage that was mainly to be relied on, I subjoin Rossetti's letter on
the subject : —

MY DEAR BROWN, — I'll come to you to-morrow at two, or rather
before (if practicable), to go to Woolner's. If I am prevented, can't
help, but I expect to come. I believe some siege ought to be laid to
Tommaso, as you say, but I shall be merely your supporter, as I rather
funk the job.

1856 WOOLKEK'S 'BACON' 135

\Yoolner was convinced, and agreed that it was better
to lose some of the individuality and truth than to
risk offending the prejudices of the multitude, who
certainly never consider Bacon in the light of a dwarf.
To-day 1 have been to see it again, and it is all right.
Then we went together to the National Gallery and
saw the new pictures. Two Virgins and Children.
are delicious, the Perugini is fine in tone and truth-
ful as out-door effects, but absurdly drawn, as usual.

' S///. — All this last week I have been gloriously
idle, doing scarcely anything but touch up one or two
photos and make calls. Gabriel got Elliot, a parson,
who writes on the " Daily News," and the editor to come
and see my pictures, and has been at the trouble of
writing a long article on them for that journal. It is to
be in to-morrow (Saturday). I called on him, and found
him at it, and was so ungrateful as to poke fun at his
self-inilicted labours, so that he could not go on with
it for fooling, and came home and dined with us, after
which no writing was possible for repletion. On Sun-
day, while I was out, Gabriel called with his friend and
client, Miss Heaton, of Leeds. But they were gone
before I came back. Really Gabriello seems bent upon
making my fortune at one blow. Never did fellow, I
think, so bestir himself for a rival before ; it is very
good and very great to act so. Kver since he felt he
had hurt me some little time ago he has done nothing
but keep on making amends to me, one after another.
As Carlyle says of Mirabeau, how much easier it is to

136 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1856

note the flaws in a circle than to grasp the whole
sweep of its circumference !

' i \th. — Before getting up, a letter to say I had the
prize. Out with a bad cold to tell White and the
Rossettis.

' \2th. — White called to see my English Aiitumn
Afternoon. Rossetti here ; I in bed, sweating, but got
up at the call of duty and Old White. Asked him 180
guineas. He nearly bought it for 150, but not quite.
We showed him some unfinished sketches of poor
Deverel, which he bought for 9 guineas the ten.

' 1 3/^. — Out of bed again with a bad cold to meet
White at Woolner's (Woolner away with Scott).
White was very pleased, and wants to have the three
medallions of Tennyson, Browning, and Carlyle.

* 22nd. — Went to see if Hunt would go to Liver-
pool with me, as there seems no chance of Gabriel.
Found he had just started for Manchester and Liver-
pool. It rained, and I stayed and dined with Marti-
neau, who played to me. He is self-taught, and does
not even know the notes by name.

4 2$rd. — Made up my mind to go and try my luck
at Liverpool. Kissed Emma and started to go by
9 o'clock train. Found it was an 8 o'clock one ; so
slept at a coffee-shop, and then next morning missed
the fast train, so did not get to Liverpool till 3. Read
Emerson's " English Traits" all the way, and found it
a most surprising trait of Americanism and a delightful
book. On arriving I went first to the Exhibition, then

1856 LIVERPOOL 137

to Miller's office and got Hunt's address ; met him at
his hotel, and to the Exhibition again, and left him
going to dine with Miller. Then I went across the
Mersey and whiled away the time till dusk. On
returning I found a note from some person unknown,
asking me to Miller's. I went there, and was most
cordially received. Hunt spoke up well for Woolner.
Miller insisted that I should take up with him, but on
going off with Hunt to sup at his hotel we talked so
long about dreams and other things that the boots put
out the gas and locked us in, so I was obliged to take
the first empty room.

'25///. — . . . Went with Miller to see the pictures of
a certain ... a lawyer and a money-lender, who buys
largely. Found him a regular brute and his pictures
daubs. Went then with Windus and Pelham home to
Miller's, and talked and smoked with him till 12.
This Miller is a jolly, kind old man, with streaming
white hair, fine features, and a beautiful keen eye like
Mulready's ; a rich brogue, a pipe of Cavendish, and a
smart rejoinder, with a pleasant word for every man,
woman, and child he meets, are characteristics of him.
... His house is full of pictures, even to the kitchen.
Many pictures he has at all his friends' houses, and his
house at Bute is also filled with his inferior ones.
Many splendid Linnells, a fine Turner, a good Con-
stable, and works by a French artist, Dellefant (?) are
among the most marked of his collection, plus a host
of good pictures by Liverpool artists — Davis, Tonge,

138 LIFE OF FORD MAD OX BROWN 1856

and Windus chiefly. ... I was very ill there, chiefly
through having fed all the time on salt meat, ham, and
pork pies; and last night, to crown it all, Miller gave us
a huge round of salt beef. Now, on the subject of
Miller's dinners, I may notice that his hospitality is
somewhat peculiar of its kind. His dinner, which is
at 6, is of one joint and vegetable, without pudding,
bottled beer for drink — I never saw any wine. His
wife dines at another table with, I suppose, his daugh-
ters when at home. After dinner he instantly hurries
you off to tea and then back again to smoke. He
calls it a meat tea, and boasts that few people who
have ever dined with him come back again.

' 26tk. — ... In the evening a party of artists was
at Miller's, and I met Davis, who brought a little
sketch from Nature, very beautiful. Miller asked me
as a favour to purchase it, which I could not refuse
him, though it put me in the awkward position of
patronising a man I think far too well of to attempt
the like with. This Davis, who has been one of the
most unlucky artists in England (now about forty, with
a wife and family), is a man with a fine-shaped head
and well-cut features, and his manners are not without
a certain modest dignity, though crushed by disappoint-
ment. Miller is the only man who buys his pictures.
Very sad ; we must hope his turn will come. Miller
bought my little picture of Emma and the boy for 84/.,1

1 This was, perhaps, the never-finished picture of Take your Son,
Sir.

1856 BROWNING 139

and a commission looms in the distance from a Mr.
Langdale.

' 28///. — Home by rail.

4 3<D///. — Went and laid out a lot of money for Emma
and the chicks. Gave Emma a 4/. dress for having
sold her and the child.

4 October jt/i. — Dined with Bill Rossetti, and after-
wards to Browning, where was a woman with a large
nose. Hope I may never meet her again. Browning's
conversational powers very great. He told some good
stories, one about the bygone days of Drury Lane.
One was the advice that a very experienced stage-
carpenter of about fifty years' standing gave to a
young man who wished for an engagement there, but
had not, it was objected, voice enough. This was to
get a pot of XXXX and put it on the stage beside
him, and, having the boards all to himself, he was first
to drink and then to shout with all his might ; then to
drink again, and so on ; which the aspirant literally
did. remaining, of course, a muff as he had begun.
However, I spoil that one. Browning said that one
evening he was at Carlyle's, and that sag-e teacher,
after abusing Mozart, Beethoven, and modern music
generally, set Mrs. Carlyle to show Browning what
was the right sort of music ; which was some Scotch
tune on an old piano, with such bass as pleased, or
rather, as Browning said, did not please Providence.
An Italian sinner, who belonged to that highest order
of criminality which requires that some very exalted

140 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1856

dignitary of the Church be resorted to before absolu-
tion be obtained for atrocities too heinous for the
cleansing powers of the ordinary priest — Browning
likened to a spider who, having fallen into a bottle of
ink, gets out and crawls and sprawls a blot over the
whole of God's laws.

' 8M. — Painted at William from 8 at night till 12.
Gabriel came in, and, William wishing to go early,
Gabriel proposed that he should wait five minutes, and
they would go together. William being got to sleep on
the sofa> Gabriel commenced telling me he intended
to get married at once to Guggum, and then off to
Algeria ! and so poor William's five minutes lasted till
half past 3 A.M.

' November gtk. — As I was painting at Woolner's
brother (for Stages of Cruelty] my wrist gradually
became so painful that I was obliged to leave off after
three hours of the worst painting I ever did in my life.
On Monday, after a day and a half of agony, I went
to show it to Marshall, who ordered leeches, &c., and
said it was rheumatic inflammation on an old sprain.
At Finchley, I remember that, whilst putting the Last
of England in its frame, I made something crack in
the back of my hand as I was breaking a piece of
wood in two. . . . This has kept me till the day before
yesterday, when I got some of the last lilac-leaves of
this year and painted them under the lay figure's arm
and worked on them yesterday. I have become fear-
fully idle, one stoppage after another having operated

I856 COMMISSIONS 14-

in a most prejudicial manner on a constitution already
deficient in energy.

'Wednesday. — Mr. Flint called here, inveigled here
by Gabriel. He did not fancy landscape, nor bite at
the Baa- Lambs, and the Christ picture was large
and had no woman in it ; for the same reason the
Cromwell was unsatisfactory. At length he com-
missioned me for something for roo guineas, but on
seeing the sketch and background of the large Work
begun at Hampstead, he almost agreed to have it gone
on with for 400 guineas, but said he would write. How
I hope he will ! This is, perhaps, the only thing that
can snatch me from the state of apathy into which I
have fallen. . . . Rossetti has been here nearly a fort-
night, coming about 12 and working or not working
at his drawing on wood for Moxon, of St. Cecilia. It
is jolly quaint, but very lovely. Also Flint, who has
already paid Gabriel down 100 out of a 4OO-guinea
commission, gave him here, on seeing it, an order for
a 4O-guinea drawing of it. We have been to the
theatre twice, and altogether very extravagant.'

i42 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1857-

CHAPTER VIII

1857-1858

Work during 1858— The Russell Place Exhibition — The American
Exhibition — Letter from Mr. Hunt — The Manchester Art Treasures
Exhibition— Mr. Frederick Shields— Visit to Oxford — Madox Brown's
diary, 1857 : Work upon Work — Death of Thomas Seddon —
Committee meeting at Ruskin's — Ruskin at W.M.C. — Work —
The Manchester Exhibition — Work during 1858— The American
Exhibitions— Letter to W. M. Rossetti — Chaucer gains Liverpool
Prize — The Hogarth Club — The Working Men's College.

As an immediate result of the commission for the
picture of Work, the number of pictures painted in
1857 sensibly diminished. The only one commenced
(or rather, recommenced *) was that of Take your
Son, Sir, which was destined to remain unfinished.
This is the picture, the double enlarging of the canvas
for which is mentioned in the diary for March 16.
For Messrs. Powell & Co. he made the first design of
a class of work to which he subsequently devoted
much time — a coloured cartoon of the Transfigura-
tion^ for execution in stained glass.

With these exceptions, the rest of Madox Brown's
time was devoted to organising the private — or semi-
private — exhibition of Pre-Raphaelite work which had

1 It was commenced in 1852.

1858 RUSSELL PLACE 143

its being" in Russell Place. To it most of the Pre-
Raphaelites contributed, and several other artists were
represented.

The idea of the exhibition was the comparatively
simple one of attracting purchasers amongst possible
visitors, rather than of relying on the sums paid for
admission. As far as Maclox Brown was concerned,
the exhibition was scarcely a financial -success, and so
late as the following year we find him lamenting that
certain of the subscribers had not yet paid up their ten
pound shares.

Madox Brown's own works contributed to the
exhibition included the pictures of the Last of
England, and the first sketch for it ; the English
Autumn Afternoon ; the Reality, and the Parting
of Cordelia from her Sisters ; the landscapes, Carry-
ing Corn, the Brent, and the H ay fie Id \ and the
pen-and-ink drawing for the Prisoner of Chillon,
the drawing of which was chronicled in the last
chapter, besides a pencil drawing of Nolly as an
Infant for Take your Son, Sir.

The worry and trouble of getting the exhibition
ready were by no means inconsiderable ; the corre-
spondence with picture owners alone is portentous
even in its remains. Mr. Miller, of Liverpool, who,
on account of the numerousness of his pictures, could
afford to lend and yet have no gaps on his walls, was
not only a complaisant furnisher of pictures, but also
an indefatigable recruiting sergeant.

i44 LIFE OF FORD MAD OX BRO\\'\ 1857-

Mr. Peter Miller to Ford Madox Brown.

Being confined to the house by a cold, I am unable to make the
exertions I otherwise would to secure the pictures you mention, but
I have sent to Mr. Heywood, Mr. Luard's friend, to inquire as to his,
and written to Mrs. Wilson, asking her for the loan of Mr. Hunt's
Haunted Manor. How to get Mr. Watson's ! little picture referred
to by you, I do not well know, as I do not think it is now in Liver-
pool ; but if I do not, the little girl will be a good substitute. You
do not say whether you wish me to send your own beautiful M'ifc
and Child) and I will probably defer sending off the Hunt, if procured,
and Millais' Wedding Cards and Broken Fountain (or whatever
he calls it) until I hear from you again. . . . One thing I advise you,
and that is to hang nothing whatever but what is first rate, and passed
as such by your select committee. You may thus make your little
exhibition extremely attractive — it will be the reverse of the Royal
Academy both in quantity and quality. We have not yet got Ruskin's
pamphlet down here, but see that he is this year as severe as he was
laudatory last on the works of Millais.

The exhibition, from its private nature, was not —
nor indeed was it intended to be — a rival to that of
the Royal Academy. Nevertheless, the idea 2 of some
exhibition directly and ostensibly in opposition to that
of the Academy was vigorously discussed at nearly
every meeting of the Pre-Raphaelites. At the same
time, Madox Brown and others of their number still
meditated putting down their names for election to
the ranks of that august body.

Another exhibition, which was fruitful of little more

1 J. D. Watson, a ' figure painter' of considerable merit of a more or
less melodramatic order, for whom Madox Brown had a certain admi-
ration.

- The suggestion was originally made by Mr. Ruskin.

1858 /•: \ffIBITIO.\S 145

than vexation and worry, was that held later in the
year at New York. Madox Brown for a time enter-
tained ideas of going writh the pictures sent to
America, where he was to have acted as hanger,
but for various reasons the scheme was dropped. It
was at best a somewhat impracticable one, and his
friends from the first endeavoured to dissuade him
from it. Madox Browrn also entertained ideas that
intrigues were working against him, and he abandoned
the scheme, which at one time had included that of a
permanent residence in the New World.

1 I am really very glad,' Mr. Holman Hunt writes,
'that you have given up the task of hanging the pic-
tures in America. It would have lost you much time,
and an artist in the unavoidable troubles of life has
quite enough interruption to his work. I often think
of the game of success as dependent on production,
regular production, as much as on any other card, and
in your case as requiring it particularly at this time.
I say this because I think that another may occasion-
all}' see the position of a man in whom he is interested
better than himself.' A little later, namely, in Sep-
tember, the same friendly monitor writes, strongly
urging and advising Madox Brown to visit the Art
Treasures Exhibition at Manchester, saying that any
artist who missed it would certainly regret the fact for
the rest of his life.

For some inscrutable reason Madox Brown, who
accordingly paid the visit to Manchester, seems to

i46 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1857-

have thought very badly of the wonderful collection
that was there exhibited. This unfavourable view of
the exhibition as a whole may have been clue to the
fact that the Christ and Peter was ill-hung, or still
more probably to some entirely temporal matter, such
as a prosy companion or the 4 cheating of the waiters.'

In any case the Christ and Peter was sold out of
the exhibition for the somewhat small sum of 2oo/.,
the purchaser being Mr. Flint. An interesting fact
with regard to its sojourn there is that it drew the
attention of the artist's later very — I am almost
tempted to say most — intimate friend, Mr. Frederick
Shields.

I quote from a lecture delivered by that artist to
the Manchester Literary Club. After referring to the
Cordelia at the Bedside of Lear •, he goes on ; —

Year after year passed by with its annual show of pictures, but no
work by this man's hand crossed my sight till 1857 ; then, at the Art
Treasures Exhibition in Manchester, enthusiastic in admiration of
such works as I there saw, for the first time, by the so-called Pre-
Raphaelites — the Claudio and Isabella, the Hireling Shepherd, and
the Return of the Dove to the Ark, I was attracted to the work
hung at the very roof, with a justice such as was meted out to Dyce's
noble cartoon of the Conversion of the Gentiles, which formed, as
Madox Brown remarked, the background to the umbrella-stand, and
fares little better at the Kensington Museum. . . . Well then, I say,
hung at the very roof was a picture of such power that, unobserved
as it was by the mass who judge a picture by its position on the wall,
it held me riveted— large and simple in the composition of its
masses as Giotto, brilliant and forcible, yet true and refined in its
colour and lighting, and wonderful for irs grasp of human character
and passion. The subject was manifest, Christ trashing Peter's
Feet.

1858 OXFORD 147

But by whom ? The catalogue replied : ' Ford Madox Known.'
So he had found me again, and seized and held me amid the myriad
of competitors for admiration ; and, ere I saw the last of it, the pic-
ture had brought me to seal my first impression that, among all the
English pictures of sacred subjects there, this only was worthy to
rank with the great Italians on the walls of the opposite galleries.

Another visit of interest that Madox Brown paid
during- the same year was that to Oxford, where In-
made the acquaintance of Rossetti's admirers, William
Morris and Burne-Jones, as well as of Swinburne.
The distemper paintings that have now sunk into the
walls of the debating hall of the Union Club were
then in the course of painting.

Unfortunately Madox Brown, whose want of appli-
cation is most fully displayed in the remissness with
which his diary was kept, has there left no trace,
other than a mere record of the visit. The only tan-
gible vestige that I have secured is a letter bearing
date November i, written with a somewhat Bacchic
hand at i A.M. : —

Ford Madox Brown to Emma Madox Brown.

November i.

DKAREST EMMA,— I write at this late hour, past one, so that the
letter may go by the post to-morrow morning. I am quite well, and
will come home by 10 or 11 to-morrow night. We are very jolly
here, and they much want me to do one of the works, but as it would
not pay, I think there is small chance of my consent being obtained.
The Oxford Museum is very fine, which Woodward is building. 1
have been up ladders this morning eighty feet high, making me feel
quite giddy.

Neither William nor Hunt have come, but there are lots of good

L 2

i48 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1857-

fellows of all sorts here. God bless you, dearest, and kiss Lucy and
the brats for me if this come first to hand.

In later years Madox Brown was wont to relate
weird tales of how they worked at Oxford. If they
may be believed, the daily fare was roast beef, plum
puddings, one to each man, and old ale. Enormous
sums were spent on the mere colours for the paint-
ings that have now disappeared beneath the dust.
Rossetti, after upsetting from the top of a ladder a
painter's pot full of priceless lapis lazuli ground into
real ultramarine, was said to have said : ' Oh, that's
nothing, we often do that.'

I insert here the remaining fragment of Madox
Brown's diary : —

Continued from November 1856.

'March 16, 1857. — Since last entry Flint gave me
the commission for the picture of Work, and I sent
it to be lined by his directions. Then I began upon
the naked baby from Arthur, made a drawing of it,
then painted it on the enlarged canvas on which I
had painted a study of Emma's head one evening in
Newman Street. I have now sent it to be enlarged
a second time, having made an error. After this
Emma was taken ill again, and had to go to Hastings
for five weeks, during which I did little more than
make a cartoon for a stained-glass window of the
Transfiguration, for Powell, of Temple Street, for
which I charged sixteen guineas. Then I finished

1858 THOMAS SEDDON 149

William Rossetti's portrait, did a good bit at the
design for Flint's picture, which, however, is not yet
done, and these last four or five weeks I have been
at work on the picture itself, drawing- in the figures
in pencil without nature. Tuesday last I went into
Gray's Inn Lane to look for Irish people, and after
some prowling about, found a poor woman and baby
in Holborn. Next day she brought me a young man,
and in six days I painted these three into the picture,
pretty satisfactorily, although I can scarce make sure
of what I am about as yet. For two days I painted
at the head of the man mixing mortar, from the
young Irishman, and to-day I painted in the man
leaning against the tree, but I see to-night it has been
done too quickly to be good.

4 Yesterday, a young distiller, who buys pictures,
called to see the Christ and Peter \ sent by Halliday,
who is therefore a brick. I devoutly wish this dis-
tiller may distil my picture until nothing remains but
the pure spirit in the shape of a cheque for 262/. IDS.
He promises to call again with his wife, and if he
buys, I make a vow to purchase Nolly a perambulator
and myself a glass-house with a revolving iloor, and
two chairs for the parlour, item, a table-cloth for my
new table, which, by-the-bye, I have designed among
other works.

' Since my last entry poor Tom Seddon's death has
occurred, which was rather a startler to me, I must
say. It makes one think of spirit-land with a ven-

150 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROM'N 1857-

geance when suddenly informed of the death of an
old and dear friend. Poor Tom Seddon ! I suppose
plenty of history will be made about him, so it is
scarcely worth wrhile for me to say much now, par-
ticularly as what I am now writing wants the
freshness and force of incidents noted down diurnally,
while at the same time it is too hasty and careless
to be readable history. I went to a meeting of the
sub-committee about the testimonial (to Seddon) at
Ruskin's. He noticed my absence from the previous
one with regret.

1 Ruskin was playful and childish, and the tea-table
overcharged with cakes and sweets, as if for a
juvenile party. After this, about an hour later, wine
and cake were again produced, of which he again
partook largely, reaching out with his thin paw and
swiftly absorbing three or four pieces of cake in
succession. At home he looks young and romp-
ish, but his power and eloquence as a speaker were
-Homeric.

* Old Miller was here, and dined with me. While
here I took him to Lowes Dickinson's party and to
see Woolner's statue of Bacon.

' I3y-the-bye, the Tennyson is finished, and is a
very noble work, and I hope will do Tommy good.
No one deserves it more. Miss Siddall has been
here for three days. She is, I fear, dying.

' Sunday, \ *]th. — Worked again at the man against
the tree, and all day with Gabriel, who is so unhappy

1858 A GRAND SECRET 151

about Miss Siddall that I could not leave him. In
the evening I went to fetch Emma from Miss Sid.'s
at Hampstead.

1 Tuesday. — Wasted the greater part of the day in
writing to old Miller, then to Hampstead with Emma
to see Miss Siddall. Coming- back I bought a very
dirty old wideawake off the head of a man we met, and
went home and painted it. ... At night went with
Gabriel to the Working Men's College. There was a
public meeting, and we heard Professor Maurice and
Ruskin spouting. Ruskin was as eloquent as ever,
and as wildly popular with the men. He flattered
Rossetti hugely, and spoke of Munro in conjunction
with Baron Marochetti, as the two noble sculptors of
England whom all the aristocracy patronised.

'March 2 is/. — To see Old White, having come
down to that again. Met Windus there ; he and
White had some grand secret between them about
me. After he left Old \Vhite showed me the study
of heads which I sold at the Winter Exhibition for
ten guineas, and which he had bought at the Pocock
sale for 6/. I forgot to ask if that was what was to
please me so. Thence to John Seddon's, to see his
Government Office drawing for the competition ;
called on Thomas ; then to Hampstead to Miss
Siddall's, where we dinecl. Came away, leaving
Emma, and sent baby from here to her.

' 22nd. — Up at ten to work at Christ's Head after
some time spent in cogitating.

i5* LIFE OF FORD MADOX BRO\\ X 1857-

' famiary 17, 1858. — I must now endeavour to fill
up this hiatus after some fashion or I shall never be
able to proceed satisfactorily, the thought of having
to do it having prevented me all this while.

'After last date I finished the Christ's Head with
much difficulty, as usual, but it seemed to be successful,
for it was much liked at Lowes Dickinson's conver-
sazione, where I sent it. There I was introduced to
Professor Maurice, who promised to sit for the
Work picture. About this time I painted in the
swell from Martineau and his horse, also the little
girl on her pony. Then, till July 13 (when our poor
little Arthur sickened and died in one painful week),
I was occupied on four things — first, the little water-
colour view of Hampstead from studio window (four
weeks) ; secondly, got up the collection of Pre-
Raphaelite works in Russell Place during the month
of June. On this I must have wasted at least four
weeks. All that came of it was that Ruskin's father
bought the charcoal of Beauty for ten guineas.
Thirdly, painted the body, arm, and leg of the man
mixing mortar in the Work picture, also painted
the dog, loose earth, lanthorn, and the pony of the
little girl, and drew in poor little Arthur's head for
the baby, and began painting it the day he was taken
ill, and had to rub out what I had done. After poor
baby's death I was very hard up, the Russell Street
Exhibition, which I paid for at first all out of my own
pocket (42/.), came back to me but slowly (and at

1858 AMERICAN EXHIBITION 153

this date some of them have never paid their shares),
and I was obliged to ask Flint ] for the money to
bury him.

' But I painted in the young working man, the
hero of the picture, all but his legs. Also, while
Emma was ill, I painted at some old studies. One
head of a humpback I painted in 1836, when I
was fifteen. This is not altered. Then one day I
looked up a slight sketch I once made for a Chau-
cer, also an old study for Mary Stuart, and other
rubbish.

4 During this time Flint offered me 2OO/. for Christ
and Peter, still at Manchester, which, to avoid poverty
closing in on me fast on all sides, I was fain to accept
in the shape of guineas.

1 All this while the American Exhibition had been
going on. I was to have gone over to hang the

pictures ; however, the scoundrel put a stop to

that, and all I had was the trouble of going to select
the daubs.

% At the end of August a letter came from Flint,
enclosing 3<S/., without stating why. However, I took
it, and started off to Manchester as a great relief, with
Emma and Lucy, and stayed there a week, for we
were all of us getting terribly hipped. But it was the
first week in October by then. . . .

1 This means that Madox Brown asked for an advance of the
money which Mr. Flint was paying, in monthly instalments of 257., for
the picture of Work.

i54 LIFE OF 'FORD MADOX BROM'N 1857-

1 After Manchester, Hunt held out some prospect
of Fairbairn's coming to buy the lilac-leaves picture.
I set to at it, and painted the convolvulus out in the
open air, composed and drew in the child, painted in
the love-lies-bleeding, worked at the lover's head and
then at the girl, in all I suppose three weeks.

' Then I worked at the legs of the hero in the large
picture and the figure of the man with the hod, chiefly
in the open air from a navvy I had met in the streets.

1 Since about the third week in November I have
been making a copyofC&rist and Peter in water-colours.
This I finished yesterday, also four designs for chairs.

' To-morrow seriously to work. . . . Two other
things of importance require some mention, a visit to the
Union Club, Oxford, and one to Carlyle, in company
with Woolner. Total of hours' work for 1857 — 2,626.

'January 27, 1858. — All last week spent in trying
to compose Carlyle and Maurice. I called on Rossetti
to see about Maurice, and saw Woodward's Crown
Office. I think it the most exquisite piece of archi-
tecture I have seen in England. Then on with him
to Jones'. Saw there Fanny, their model.

' I called on Maurice and arranged with him for

o

Monday. Flint has commissioned Jones for another
picture for 350 guineas, and bought Topsy's (Morris)
Tristram and Isult.

1 Saturday. — Spent a great portion of the day in
contriving a rail for Maurice to lean against, and to
the play with Emma and Lucy.

KS5-S LAST OF THE DIARY 155

' Sunday. — Had to work at the rail, and Monday
and yesterday had short sittings from Maurice, and
made an outline cartoon of him. Saw Miss Sterling,
John Sterling's daughter, and she is a jolly girl, and
would do to paint.

' At Manchester (to give one recording line to it)
all that I remember is that an old English picture with
Richard II. in it was the only really beautiful work of
the old masters, and Hunt and Millais1 the only fine
among the new. Hunt, in fact, made the exhibition.
The music was jolly, and the waiters tried very hard
to cheat.

'Sunday, $\st. — Coloured at one of my lithographs
of Windermere to give John Marshall. At night
drew in Maurice into the picture. But, drawn exactly
from himself, it looks ridiculously stumpy, and the
head enormous. I must either falsify it or make the
navvy's head bigger. Out to see about a photographer
for Maurice. To-night letters and accounts.

'February ist. — Bothering all the morning about
some frames that came home wrong size. Coloured

1 Whilst correcting these sheets for the press I receive the news that
the great I'.R.B. and P.R.A. is no more. In this Diary Madox Brown
speaks occasionally with some acrimony of Millais, and although the latter
made no objections to my publishing these remarks, I now feel some com-
punction about doing so. But, since Madox Brown also speaks with the
admiration which he really felt for Millais' work, it would be impolitic to
suppress the one without the other. The fact is the two artists were at
that time very intimate, and that being so, Madox Brown allowed himself
to ' slang' his friend's work in private, but would certainly have belauded
it in all public places and balanced judgments.

j56 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BRO\\\\ 1857-

at the lithograph. Cough still bad. Could not go
this evening to Munro's.' Cetera desunt.

For the sake of convenience I have grouped together
with the diary for 1857 the fragment concerning the
months of January and February of the year following.

In this year, as in the one preceding, titles of new
works are conspicuous by their absence. Work
continued to swallow up its painter's daylight hours,
and exhibition projects his leisure. Otherwise there
were a few old studies retouched, and others, such
as the landscape of Southend, finished. At the
suggestion of its purchaser, Mr. Flint, some altera-
tions were made in the Christ and Peter. In the
latter part of the year the same gentleman com-
missioned Madox Brown to paint a companion to the
small water-colour of the Prisoner of Chillon, a little
work that he had purchased the same year. The
subject of this, however, was not settled.

The amount of work bestowed on the picture of
Work this year was as considerable as in 1857. To
what an extent it filled its painter's thoughts is very
visible in the diary. To fall in line with Madox Brown's
methods everything must be— and accordingly was—
where possible, painted from Nature. Workmen in pits
must be painted in pits, and pits must be dug out or
sought ; mortar must be turned again and again to get
the requisite soiling of a spade. Of each implement
studies must be made in just the right shade or just

1858 AMERICAN EXHIBITION 157

the requisite glare of sunlight Thus it is scarcely to
be wondered at that lists of pictures and bank balances
fell away before this almost ceaseless work. The picture
was paid for by instalments during its painting — 257. a
month until 4OO/. was paid ; but the sixteen months
passed away, as did nearly four times that time, and
the picture remained unfinished. As far as its finances
were concerned it was, as the sequel will prove, a very
white elephant among pictures.

In the exhibitions of the year Madox Brown's
pictures met with varying success. Those sent to the
land of the almighty dollar brought back no more
than thirty guineas, the price of the Hampstead from
my Window * which was purchased at Philadelphia.
Otherwise the experience of the New World was
productive of much vexation ; rain-storms destroyed
water-colours, and porters contrived to lacerate pictures
in oils, as happened to the cartoon of Ourc Ladye
and the King Lear at Boston. Finally, the pictures
were returned too late for various English exhibitions,
and owners who had lent them remonstrated. Madox
Brown wrote an angry letter to W. M. Rossetti, who
wras officially connected with the American exhibitions.
Mr. Rossetti's answer was calm, and extorted an
apologetic response, which 1 insert rather as expli-
catory of Ford Madox Brown's character than as
displaying any new facts of importance :—

MY DEAR WILLIAM, — I very much fear, from the long and serious
toned answer you have so kindly given me, that much more irritaticn

158 LIFE OF FORD MAD OX BROWN 1857-

must have shown in my letter than I was aware of, or at all intended.
I suppose being disappointed in getting the pictures for the periods
I most required them, and then at length getting the King Learback
with part of the stretcher torn away and a great bump in the centre of
the canvas put me in a fluster, and I wrote off without well weighing
what I put down. But whatever comes of it all (although I may feel
little disposed to have anything more to do with America in future),
yet I feel it my duty in the present instance to make the best of it all,
and rather smooth things down than lead the way in recriminations
at what can't be helped.

The 5<D/. prize of the Liverpool Academy was this
year again awarded him for the picture of Chaucer
at the Court of Edward III.

Towards April, and indeed earlier in the year, the
question of an exhibition in opposition to that of the
Royal Academy once more became a burning one,
and a number of meetings led to the founding of
the Hogarth Club, which united the functions of a
social resort and of an exhibiting society. It was, of
course, in the full sense of the word, tentative. The
exact originator of the scheme it would be an almost
impossible task to discover, but that Madox Brown
took an important part in organising and finding
members for it may be safely advanced. Especially
when things went wrong was there a tendency among
members of the club to assign to him the chief place
among its founders. In its embryonic stages it was dis-
cussed by its members at their various dwellings, in-
cluding those of William Morris and Burne-Jones,
whose names had now become household words
amongst Madox Brown's friends.

is5s //WV'AVJU; .!//•:. v.v COLLEGE i59

The membership of the club was fairly wide, in-
cluding, with the Pre-Raphaelites and their disciples,
many of the Liverpool artists, such as William Davis,
Bond, and Windus, and picture-buyers like Mr. Miller
and Mr. Flint.

Later in the same year the first exhibition was
held, Madox Brown being represented by the dupli-
cate of Christ and Peter, the sketches Out of Town
and St. h'cs, the landscape Southend, and the cartoon
of the Transfiguration.

Towards November, Madox Brown took over
Rossetti's class at the Working Men's College.1 Ros-
setti found the work or the responsibility too tiresome :
' I have been asked on all sides,' he writes, ' whether I
could find a substitute, and, on Ruskin's last asking
me, I mentioned you as barely possible, and he wished
I would find out whether you would come. Of course
my class is a perfectly independent one there, neither
R. nor anyone but myself being heard of in it, and
the same exactly would be the case with you.'

The Hogarth Club was the cause of a great falling
off of interest in the correspondence of Rossetti and
Maclox Brown. The poet's letters are nearly all re-
quests for loans of colours or model-properties, and
end tantalising!) , ' We will discuss such and such at
the Hogarth on Friday.'

1 To Mr. J. P. Emslie I am indebted for the interesting account of
Madox Brown's connection with the Working ..Men's College which will
be found in Appendix A. Madox I'.rown taught at the college during the
latter part of 1858, the whole of 1859, and the greater part of 1860.

160 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

CHAPTER IX

1859-1861.

Work during 1859— Duplicates— Quarrel with Hogarth Club— A new
Patron — Letters from Carlyle — Portrait of Carlyle — Ugliness of P.-R.
Women — Madox Brown and Volunteers — Rossetti's Shooting — Music
— Work during 1 860 — English Boy — Irish Girl, &c. — Prosperity —
Hospitality— Liverpool Artists — Rossetti's Marriage —Soup Kitchen
— Work during 1861 — Finances of Work — Letter about Artists and
Commissions — Founding of Messrs. Morris, Marshall, Falkner £ Co.
— Origin of the * Firm' — Madox Brown on Exhibitions— His attitude
towards the R.A. and Academicians — Mr. George Rae — The
Amenities of Volunteering in 1861— Symposia— Letter from Rossetti
— Rossetti and Friends — Decease of Hogarth Club.

DURING 1859 there was much touching up of pictures
that had found purchasers or had changed hands.
These included the Pretty Baa-Lambs, a duplicate
of Christ and Peter, the Last of . England, and
the Wickliffe, &c. Besides these an autumn land-
scape of Walton-on-the-Naze, and a characteristic and
poetic drawing for Victor Hugo's ' Traveller,' which,
with a translation of the poem, also by Madox Brown,
was published in ' Once a Week ' in August of the
year.

Chalk heads, particularly those of the artist's
daughter Cathy and Miss Louie Jones, occupied a
certain amount of time, and the same may be said of

1 86 1 'ARTS AND CRAFTS' 161

designs for furniture. In this Maclox Brown was
quite as much the herald of a new 'movement' as he
had been in the case of the P re- Raphael ites. He
had designed his own furniture long before the firm
of Morris & Co. was thought of, and subsequently
he designed a great many household articles for his
friends. That his designs were, to a certain extent,
in demand, I am led to believe by the fact that, in
the year preceding (1858), Mr. Holman Hunt, in a
letter, mentions incidentally a number of articles of
furniture for which he would be glad to receive
sketches. The table made to his own design is
mentioned by Madox Brown in the diary, and is
a characteristically substantial piece of furniture, with
a top in shape like a vertical section of a barrel, and
with pierced lockers beneath.

These designs for furniture led to Madox Brown's
first open rupture with the Hogarth Club, to the
summer exhibition of which he this year sent them,
with the idea of rendering the exhibition a sort of
precursor of those of ' arts and crafts ' that are now a
sufficiently familiar feature of art-life.

The committee of the club, probably regarding the
designs as not specimens of fine art proper, rather
than as defective examples of their kind, rejected
them, whereupon Madox Brown immediately resigned
his membership, as he had before done his seat on the
committee. As a matter of fact, the membership of
the club was a somewhat heterogeneous one. The

M

1 62 LIFE OF FORD J/14Z><9.Y BROWX

more distinguished members, however cordial friends,
were all of too marked individuality to run together in
the reins of definite rules and regulations without the
natural result of factions and dissensions.

Some of the members were for rendering the club
a close preserve for artists of a certain kind : others,
and Madox Brown amongst them, for a more catholic
interpretation of the membership qualification. This
naturally resulted in a great deal of black-balling and a
certain amount of friction. The points of discussion
multiplied themselves indefinitely over such subjects
as the desirability of billiard-rooms or of Sunday open-
ing, and in the end, at the beginning of 1862, the club
died a quiet death.

Madox Brown, in the case of the rejection of his
works, was induced by the representations of the
committee to withdraw his resignation and to return
his pictures for exhibition, but the ultimate result of his
experience with the club was a determination to have
nothing to do with societies in the future.

In the meantime a new purchaser, who was destined
to become the possessor of several of Madox Brown's
finest works, had made his appearance. I refer to the
late Mr. Leathart,1 of Newcastle, who in July pur-

1 In connection with the sale tf Christ and Peter, D. G. R. says :—
* I am really glad to hear of Leatharfs buying the Christ and Peter,
not only for the immediate sale, but because I think it shows a steadiness
in him viewed as a victim to Art in the future. Who knows that he may
not even pair with Flint as a twin lamb on the altar of sacrifice 1 He
already courts the unsparing knife of the Druid Jones." Although flippantly
phrased, this extract is sufficiently appreciative of Mr. Leathart's very
excellent selective faculties in the matter of picture-buying.

i86i RLYLE

-ed the Pretty Baa-Lambs, in AiiLnjst the dupl'
r. and in November comrr.

T replica of li'ork.
The lar^e pic:

§; the care that h . it.

The year L>

Lph, which was to I : the

rait of himself in the pictur
remindin^ him of the fact pr
characteristic replies : —

DJ-.AR SIR, — I think it a pity you had not put
ome other man than me int- rtain

juld hardly have found amo: [ :o.m, at pr-:

i less in a condition to hdp you forward with it
in it, active or passive. I was never in my da;,
overwhelmed and buried miles deep in the :iter-

heavy in sad truth _th I have left, as,

Jonah in the Wha .: a type of m • sad

months and years.

_-ry well remember your amiable request, and the pr
mad- ' some photographs/ That promise I will k

and to that we mu>:
Any afternoon I will attend here, at
appoint me, an • : . le hour to get what ph

U or can of me. If here, the hour must be ^ual

hour of quitting work, or - justly, the ch

at an attainable \ .thcr

equally convenient to me ; and the hour may be such as enable
to arrive fat a rate of 5 miles per hour we will s£

Yr, .

T. CARI
And following : —

I)KAP SlR,— I ] . Mr. Thompson's Photographic

lishment on Thursday Cday after •. , as the first part of

M 2

i64 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1859-

my afternoon's walk — if you will meet me then and have the job in
readiness for my appearance there. I set forth at 3^ P.M. ; if we
give hnlf-an-hour for the journey we may appoint 4 P.M. as the hour
for beginning business. If the day is actually rainy— that is to say,
rain without interval — I shall understand it will not do, but that I
must return on the morrow. You will have to tell me, however,
where the place specially is. I vaguely understand it to be at or in
what they call 'the Brompton Boilers,' but I never was within the
circuit of that establishment ; and should like to know what door,
&c., and whether simply asking for ' Mr. Thompson, Photographer,'
will suffice. Please, a word upon this in the course of to-morrow
(Wednesday) ; and for the rest, consider settled as above on my part,
the hour 4, the &c., &c.

I remain, yours sincerely,

T. CARLYLE.

With regard to the resulting portrait in the picture
of Work a great deal has been said, the general
opinion being that the portrait is a caricature, or at
least verges upon that method of portrayal. Without
being at this moment concerned to defend it, I propose
to say a few words on the subject before passing on.

A few clays before the letter above quoted arrived,
Madox Brown wrote to ask Mr. Holman Hunt's help
in the matter of soliciting Carlyle's sitting. In the
course of a lengthy reply, setting forth the difficulties
that lay in the way, Mr. Hunt says :—

Apart from this, would not you stand more chance of getting
him if you designed him with his face in a more dignified state of
composure ? I should not like it to be painted with my mouth wide
open in horrid grimace — neither would you, I think. And really
such fitful contortions in a human face seem to me very painful when
for hours, years, and ages they remain the same — as in a picture.

Maclox Brown, however, was not to be moved

1 86 1 UGL Y FA CES 165

from what seemed to him to be the dramatic truth of
the picture as he had conceived it ; and as Carlyle's
face had appeared to him in a moment of animation
he painted it. The picture was not to be, and should
not be regarded as, a work of generalisation or allegory,
but as an actual moment, caught and recorded.

On the other hand, in a letter full of Carlyleana,
written to Maclox Brown in the year 1866, Mr. T.
Dixon l says : —

Well, lastly, I saw Mr. C. [Carlyle] lately, and, strange to tell, he
had that singular expression that you have given to him in your
picture of Work. I never liked it • in fact, it used to haunt me,
and since I have seen it in reality I feel sad withal.

— an unwilling, if not ungrateful tribute to the truth
of the portrait.2 A rather amusing passage anent
the ugliness of heads in pictures of the Pre-Raphaelite
school is the following from a letter of a patron : —

Our pictures seem to come out badly in the Reviews this year,
and it is owing to nothing but the ugly female faces in the bulk of
the Pre-Raphaelite works. Rossetti has much to answer for for this,
tor he has constantly red hair and the same type of face in his models.
I feel sure that this is the great obstacle to the popularity of the
Pre-Raphaelite works. I consider you are not liable to this charge,
but those who follow Rossetti are. Stanhope has spoiled his pic-
tures by this defect. Even the 'Saturday Review' and Ruskin have

1 Thomas Dixon was the working-man friend of Carlyle to whom
' Time and Tide by Wear and Tyne ' was addressed.

- The result of Carlyle's sittings seems to have been a considerable
alteration of his head. Witness, D. G. R., June 22, 1859: 'Your new
Carlyle is a vast improvement, I think. The whole picture seems
growing together into thorough satisfactoriness.'

166 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1859-

turned against the Pre-Raphaelite pictures this year, and so has the
'Times/ and on this ground I do indeed hope that Jones will not get
into it, or Morris and Prinsep in the work they have for me. I am
sure you will get two or three pretty models for the young ladies in
my picture, and don't have red hair, please ! !

Towards the end of September, Madox Brown
visited Mr. Miller, and from there went to the \\ .
B. Scott's at Newcastle. Of the road-haps thither-
ward I have discovered no trace, but, wrhilst returning
by sea from Newcastle, Madox Brown was nearly
wrecked, the engines of the steamer breaking down,
and the ship drifting almost at the mercy of the
elements, to arrive three days late in the Thames.

Late in the year — in November — Madox Brown
joined the Volunteers, the Artists' Company of which
was raised and organised by Mr. Cave Thomas at
about that time. Although he never achieved any
distinction in his amateur military capacity, Madox
Brown remained in the company for several years
and attended the drills with some regularity, whilst he
induced several of his friends, including D. G. Rossetti,
to be of the number.

His own account of their exploits in the use of the
rifle was somewhat as follows : His own first shot
was not registered on the target, but injured his dog,
which was viewing the attempt at some yards to the
right. Rossetti's, however, was marvellously success-
ful, the bullet striking the very centre of the bull's-
eye, on the spot where the foot of the compass
was placed to describe the circle. The instructing

i86i MUSIC 167

sergeant was in ecstasies, imagining that Rossetti was
a Queen's Prize-man in embryo ; but, ' From that day
to this,' Madox Brown was accustomed to say, ' D. G. R.
never hit the target again.'

Madox Brown, by dint of practising with Morris
tubes in his own back garden, succeeded in becoming
a marksman of some distinction at and below 500 yards
range. Beyond that, however, he does not seem to
have had any certainty of aim.

Further distraction was afforded him by his devo-
tion to music, in which pursuit the Madox Browns
were aided and abetted by many of their friends.
At that date Madox Brown, whose admiration for
German music was of later growth, still ' sang a very
good song ' of an old English kind.

Recollections of a somewhat later clay allowed the
artist's daughter Cathy, whose performances on the
piano were both precocious and considerable, to fur-
nish the writer with a sufficiently vivid sketch of the
horrors of being set on the piano-stool to accompany
either Madox Brown's solo, ' 'Tis jolly to hunt,' or a
duet of the ' La ci darem" order, in which Mr. and
Mrs. Madox Browrn took part. If mistake marred
the concord, it would be : —

1 My clear, you are wrong ; ' or, ' Ford, that note is
F sharp ' — to end in a huff, at which Mr. Madox
Brown would leave the room by one cloor and Mrs.
Madox Brown by the other. Upon this a meeting
and reconciliation in the hall of necessity ensued, and

1 68 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1859-

a return to the room to discover that the mistake was
due to the unfortunate accompanist. . . .

The year 1 860 saw the beginning, on Madox
Brown's part, of a slight return to the domain of new
works of importance ; one, indeed, of the works
executed in this year was, up to a comparatively late
period, one of the painter's most popular works, so far
as popularity can be said to have been vouchsafed to
Madox Brown.

I refer to the picture of the English Boy, which,
with the slightly smaller companion work, the Irish
Girl, was painted for Mr. Flint towards the end of
1860.

The English Boy, a work of the highest finish,
represents the artist's son Oliver, then about six years
of age, in the full flush of boyish health. The extreme
care with which it is painted, the vividness of the
colour, and the redness of the flesh tints, render it one
of the most representative, whilst the brightness of
expression makes it one of the most agreeable of
Madox Brown's smaller works of this period. Not
quite so bright in colour, nor so careful in execution,
the smaller picture, the Irish Girl, remains an
eminently pleasing little portrait of a dark-haired,
dark-eyed, red-cheeked, and red-lipped Irish girl
of about the same age. The model was a little
orange-girl from rhe sister-isle, whom Madox Brown
came across during his search for Irish models for
Work. A number of works were retouched and

1 86 1 A NEW PATRON 169

worked over, including the reduced duplicate of the
Last of England^ whilst a certain amount of work was
devoted to the unfinished Stages of Criielty and Take
your Son, Sir.

At about this time Madox Brown began to fight
shy of exhibitions. At the Hogarth Club he wras
unrepresented, though, by the representations of
William Rossetti, he was induced to return to the
committee of the club. He contributed to the Liver-
pool Exhibition, and, by special invitation, to the Edin-
burgh Exhibition, where the favourable notice of the
Press was accorded to the pictures of the Last of
England and the Lear, and induced him subse-
quently to repeat his contributions to the exhibitions.
All idea of sending pictures to the Royal Academy he
had, however, abandoned.

In the meantime a new patron had made his
appearance in the shape of Major — now Colonel —
C ilium, a Crimean officer, and an amateur artist, who
for some time took lessons in painting from Madox
Brown. His acquisitions included the reduced du-
plicate of the Last of England, the Hayficld, and
Walton-OH-the-Nazc, whilst, in spite of the com-
mercial panic of the year before, the purchasers in the
North of England continued to give commissions for
varying sums.

Thus Madox Brown's worldly position began to
sec in moderately assured, or, at least, to be reasonably
maintainable by means of the utmost hard work. At

170 LIFE OF FORD .MADOX BROW \ 1859-

the same time, the expenses of his household had
materially increased with the growth of his children.

In accord with this access of prosperity, Madox
Brown's scale of hospitality increased, and an occa-
sional party began to have a place amongst the fixtures
of the year. These gatherings, although perhaps not
as widely attended as later ones in Fitzroy Square,
were not wanting in their attractions. Of one of them
in particular, the fame spread at any rate as far as
Liverpool. ' I heard of your party,' William Davis
writes, ' and what a splendid treat to those who had
the pleasure of enjoying it ! Excuse my mention
of it.'

Certainly, Madox Brown's faculty of taking an
interest — or finding one — in almost every subject
rendered him an excellent host in any but the most
unsympathetic society, and his chosen friends were
almost all men of individual interest of an intellec-
tual order.

In the letter quoted, Davis gives a short sketch of
the position of art and the doings of artists in Liver-
pool, which I may be forgiven for quoting, as being a
slight light on a phase of art history and on a set of
men in whom Madox Brown took a special interest,
and of whom very little is generally known : —

With regard to our Academy, I can say it is intended to have another
exhibition, because Mr. Booker, the landlord, has agreed to take the
rooms off our hands at short notice. This he at first refused. As
it is, we may go on as long as there are funds ; some think that per-

i86i LIVERPOOL. ACADEMY ,-,

haps a favourable change may occur, and that it may go on longer,
hut it is very doubtful, I think.

The opposition fellows are going to have an exhibition a la
Manchester on a small scale, some time about April, intending to
collect together all the pictures to be had in Cheshire and Lancashire
private collections, and sent a circular to Mr. Miller, soliciting him in
vain. However, it is possible they may succeed in getting up an
attractive affair. They are fearfully wideawake ; we have no chance
with them in that respect.

Windus is painting his picture over at Rockferry, at Mr. Lee's.
No one knows the subject, but one head which I saw was admirable.
Campbell is progressing with his picture. He has all his figures
almost finished, and I think, when it is finished up as highly as he
is capable of doing, it will do him credit.

Bond has sold some pictures to a Mr. Rochet, of Preston. I
think that's the name. P. P. Marshall, of London, whom you may
know something of, introduced him.

You always send me good news, but I never have any to send
you, for this Liverpool is a barren desert as respects Art news, but
your letter has been very cheering, and I will be very glad to stir
myself and get the picture done [this last in allusion to one of several
small commissions that Madox Brown had been enabled to secure
for Davis, for whose work he entertained an especial and very com-
prehensible admiration]. I saw Alfred Hunt's picture the other
day, and I like it much. It is a view of Snowdon, the top enveloped
in a mist and part illumined with sunshine. It is very clever, but I
think I almost prefer his water-colour drawings.

On May 23 Rossetti was married to Miss Siddall,
after a period of extreme anxiety about her health, and
meetings were subsequently frequent:—

DKAR Bkowx, — Lizzie and I propose to meet Georgie and N\<1
[Mrs. and Mr. Burne-Jones] at 2 P.M. to-morrow at the Zoological
Gardens — place of meeting the Wombat's Lair, cVc.

The only other point worthy of mention in the
occurrences of the year was the starting by the Maclox

172 LIFE OF FORD^MADOX BROWN 1859-

Browns of a soup-kitchen in their own house during
the winter months of exceptional distress. The treat-
ment and solution of problems connected with the relief
of distress were subjects to which, at various periods
of his life, Madox Brown devoted much attention. In
later years he was more inclined to regard the matter
as one too far-reaching to be solved by such means
as individual or even organised charity. But these
more advanced theories had no effect upon his purse-
strings, and his tendency to give monetary, as well as
monitory, assistance to all and sundry askers mate-
rially straitened his circumstances and occupied his
time.

The year 1861 saw the finishing of two important
early works — the cartoon of Harold, nowr called
Wilhelmus Conquestator, and that of Oure Ladye
of Saturday Night [or, Of Good Children\. The
colour was now added to them at the instance of
Mr. Flint, and upon that gentleman's death the com-
mission was taken over by the late Mr. Leathart.
The Oure Ladye of Good Children was the picture
that had undergone such maltreatment during its
Transatlantic voyages ; having experienced the full
force of a rainstorm of tropical violence that k came
on without any warning at Washington Depot.'

Besides these, there were the usual amount of
retouchings before sales, and one duplicate, that of
the head of the artist's daughter, Lucy, the original
of which was painted in Paris, circa 1844.

1 86 1 FINANCIAL 173

As a matter of fact, it was only by dint of these
retouchings and replicas that Madox Brown contrived
to support himself during the painting of works de-
manding so much time and labour as the picture of
}}\irk. A mere consideration of the time consumed
and the price paid will amply show this.

\\~ork was a picture the painting of which extended
over eleven years, and which, either in the stage of
studies or in itself, was hardly ever out of the painter's
hand for any length of time between the years 1856
and 1863. The price stipulated for it was 4OO/., and
although, in the event, the sum paid for its copyright
was considerably in excess of the first sum, it is suffi-
ciently evident that 4<DO/. was quite insufficient to
compensate for the time spent on the picture, and
certainly to reward or maintain its artist.

It therefore seems obvious that only by at least
such work as the smaller replica of Work, which
occupied a share of four years, and was sold for 3I2/.,
and still more by the restoring and colouring of such
works as the Ourc Ladye, which occupied three
weeks, and was recompensed with 180 guineas, or
the duplicate portrait of his daughter, which took
only four days and fetched 40 guineas, that life was
to be supported.

These facts seem to have been brought home to
Mr. Flint, for in the beginning of March, impatient
to gain possession of H'o?-/:, he gave Madox Brown
a new commission, which substantially took the place

i74 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROll'X 1859-

of these extraneous modes of subsistence. The terms
of Madox Brown's proposal were that Mr. Flint
should give Madox Brown a new commission for
400 guineas, payable by monthly instalments of
40 guineas, and that during the continuance of the
payments Madox Brown should work exclusively
upon the picture of Work. The extra payment
was to be compensated by a replica — the proposal
was for the Wilhelmus — which was to be finished
at Madox Brown's leisure. To this proposal Mr.
Flint acceded, writing, however, a somewhat tart
letter upon the subject of the dilatoriness of artists,
from which he was certainly a sufferer. To this
letter Madox Brown penned a reply, which I insert :

Ford Madox Brown to Mr. Flint.

April 23.

MY DEAR SIR, — . . . As an answer to what you say respecting the
shortcomings of artists as compared with dealers (and I can only
answer for my own) I will imagine a case. For instance, that you
should have commissioned Holman Hunt for his picture of Christ
in the Temple six years ago, and paid him 400 guineas for it in two
years, expecting, as he did, that the picture would be done in that
time. Now, supposing it had taken him six years, as in fact it did,
would you have gained by hurrying it, arid do you really think your
present bargain with Gambart better ? I don't know what the bargain
is, nor will I mention the sum report makes it out to be, nor the time
which report declares you are to wait for the picture. I only put it
to you conscientiously, would it not have been a better bargain to
have paid the artist 400 guineas four years ago for the picture and
the copyright, and then to have waited while he was making the
picture what it is ?

I trust you will not misunderstand this as intrusively commenting

1861 LECTURING A PATRON 175

on your affairs. I only point to it as a parallel to my own case. As
to the new commission for 400 guineas which you have given me to
facilitate the speedy completion of \Vork, I do not think it at all to
your prejudice.

Seeing that all my pictures are by far the greatest bargains you
have ever made (as I believe you will find one day). I am certainly
gratified by it, chiefly considering the spirit in which I believe you
do it (for I can well understand that, just after buying the Christ in
the Temple, you must not be much in a mood for fresh purchases).
I certainly am desirous of finishing the Work picture off. But,
had you not done so, the result would have been that I should have
had to set to work at other pictures which are as good as sold, if
done. In fact, binding myself, as I do, voluntarily to you in this
matter, may cause me to lose other commissions. Oure Ladye is
still in hand, and I do not fancy you would wish to hurry it. In fact,
I never can either shorten or lengthen the duration of any work,
however much I may desire it.

With respect to other artists, I will write to Morten. I certainly
thought you had that picture before.

Morris I have spoken to. His picture is now in my house, and
at my suggestion he has so altered it that it is quite a fresh work.
There is still a figure in the foreground to be scraped out and another
put in its place.

It is this sort of work which makes it so difficult for a real artist
to say wrhen a painting will be finished. I take as much interest in
Morris's picture turning out good as though it were my own, for,
though it was not commissioned at my recommendation, I have
repeatedly since told you that Morris is a man of genius.

This rough-and-ready reply does not seem to
have irritated Mr. Flint to any appreciable degree,
and it will probably remain a problem whether it
is more politic to approach a patron cap in hand, or
to adopt a somewhat high and overbearing tone
towards him.

It remains a fact that Madox Brown, although the

176 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROU'N 1859-

most courteous and genial of men under ordinary
circumstances, repeatedly damaged his prospects by
resenting over-hastily and answering unguardedly
slights that were frequently imagined.

To dismiss the subject of the commercial trans-
actions that took place in connection with Work.
In July of this year Mr. Flint died suddenly, leaving
his affairs in a slightly involved condition. Under
these circumstances his trustees thought fit to
repudiate the second 4OO/. commission. In conse-
quence, Work proceeded by slow stages towards
its completion, which did not occur until August
1863.

Even then, although virtually out of his pos-
session, it did not cease to be fruitful of annoy-
ance to Madox Brown. He endeavoured in vain
to find a purchaser on behalf of the trustees of the
Flint estate ; the picture then fell into the hands
of dealers, commission agents, and auctioneers, and
at last passed out of Madox Brown's ken alto-
gether. It would be easy to dilate at some length
on the vicissitudes that it underwent ; it is sufficient
to say that it now finds a permanent resting-place
on the walls of Manchester Fine Art Gallery, and
that its painter had the gratification of seeing it
there.

In the meantime an event of no little importance
had taken place, which opened a new field for Madox
Brown's inventive genius. I refer, of course, to the

1861 *THE FIRM'

177

founding of the ' Firm ' which received the name of
'Morris, Marshall, Falkner, £ Co.'

As to who was the actual originator of the ' Firm '
there is some little doubt, and the matter is, perhaps,
of small importance. To Mr. Watts-Dunton I am
indebted for the information that Rossetti ' laid claim
to having made the generating proposal in a company
including himself and Messrs. Morris, P. P. Marshall,
Falkner, Burne-Jones, Webb, and Madox Brown. It
was to the effect that with a view to starting a sort of
co-operative agency for supplying artistic furniture
and surroundings primarily to themselves, but also to
the general public, each of those present should lay
down a stipulated sum. The idea was at first pro-
posed and received in a semi-jocular manner, but upon
further consideration the scheme took shape and
became practicable. The rules of incorporation were,
briefly : that each member should contribute designs
for the various articles of use and ornament for which
demand arose, and should be paid for his work in the
usual course of events, before the profits, if any, were
shared.

With the general history of the Firm the present
writer is not further concerned. As has already been
said, it opened up an almost entirely new field for
Madox Brown's energies, that of the cartoon for
stained glass. Although three years before he had

1 Mr. William Rossetti informs me that the su^y cation was made to
D. G. R. by Mr. 1'. 1'. Marshall.

N

178 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1859-

designed a single window for Powell & Co., that work
did not lead to more, whereas the designs for Morris
& Co. must have exceeded 150, and were many of
them works of considerable importance.1 . . .

In 1 86 1 Madox Brown's dislike to exhibiting was
in nowise altered, although he was actually repre-
sented at three exhibitions — that of the Hogarth Club,
of the Royal Society, and at Edinburgh.

In this connection frequent remonstrances were
addressed to Madox Brown by members of his circle.

The answer to one of these I print, although it
remained unsent, and consequently to a certain extent
repented of. It represents Madox Brown's feelings
in a somewhat exaggerated way, and puts the position
in a light which was possibly only partly justified : —

Madox Brown to • .

MY DEAR , — Thanks for your kind solicitude. You know

I said I had not made up my mind,2 nor have yet ; however, all I
can promise you is that I never in the least important circum-
stance act without much consideration, and systematic care and cir-
cumspection, and I generally find it answers. This is a maxim with
most business men, and in business matters we should take them
for our guide.

The whole drift of your advice has been, for some years,
something to the effect that it is best and necessary to put oneself
somewhat in the power of Academicians, and keep to the beaten track.

1 A list of Madox Brown's designs for Morris & Co. will be found at
the end of the book.

- The matter under discussion was whether or no Madox Brown should
allow himself to be represented at the International Exhibition of 1862.

i86i THE ROYAL ACADEMY .79

Xo\v, I have never found anything but disaster from the Acade-
micians, and the beaten track has been to me barren as well as
beaten: and, although provisionless, suffer me therefore to make my
own tracks. Your friends are not my friends, nor is it necessary
they should be.

It is quite unimportant what Egg ' thinks of my works, but it
is very important that neither he nor anyone else should have the
chance of hanging them /// again, which is a ruinous thing.

Did Anthony's two pictures come late also, or was his picture late
at the Academy this year ?

What good came of your earnest wish that I should be one of
the candidates ? Would it not have been more profitable (from a
business point of view) to have informed everyone that the last thing
in the world I would do would be to join them than to let it be known
that I would and they wouldn't ?

Can you assure me that ,2 who is one of the chief men, is

an enthusiastic friend of mine, and will see justice done in spite of all
hangers ? Three or four friends of this sort, the ones to hang one's
pictures high, the others to send them back after asking for them,
would ruin a poor artist whose reputation is always of the most
gossamer sort.

The long and short of this rigmarole, you see, is that I am very
pig-headed, and never take anyone's advice now ; but I like my
friends, and old friends (like yourself) best, and men of genius best
of all, so I trust to be ever friends with you though I won't take your
advice.

Ever sincerely yours,

F. M. B.

1 This passage refers to a fact stated in the letter to which this is the
answer. Since the year 1852, when the picture of Christ and Peter had
been 'skied,' Madox Brown had refrained from sending to the Royal
Academy Exhibitions. The Academician referred to had been on the
Hanging Committee, and had acknowledged himself responsible for this
treatment, pleading the picture's late arrival, and the fact that, although
substantially an admirer of Madox Brown, he did not extend his approval
to this particular work.

- A gentleman of influence who had repudiated a commission given
to Madox Brown.

N 2

i8o LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1859-

If somewhat violent in its tone, the letter is, per-
haps, not absolutely unnatural. It must be remembered
that Madox Brown's rencontres with Academicians
were generally unfortunate. I have already quoted
the vulgar critique upon the Christ and Peter
which appeared in the 'Athenaeum,' whose accredited
critic in those clays was Frank Stone, A.R.A. ;
and when the past masters of the day descend
to weapons of critical Billingsgate, it is only to be
expected that the younger generation will deal some-
what over-hard knocks on the door, or even imagine
themselves victims of an ill-feeling that does not
exist in the exactly suspected form.

In the course of the year the death of Mr. Flint,
with its disagreeable attendant circumstances, was to
a certain extent compensated by the appearance of a
new purchaser, Mr. George Rae, who, in the course
of time, became not only a source of income, but a
warm personal friend of the artist.

His first purchase was, on November 23, the land-
scape of the English Autumn Afternoon. During the
same month Mr. Leathart purchased the Wilhclunis,
the commission for which Mr. Flint's trustees had
repudiated.

Madox Brov/n's life during the year was as un-
eventful as of yore. The company in which he most
particularly mixed was that of the members of the
4 Firm.' Visits to the Morrises at Upton on the part
of all the members of the family were not infrequent,

1 86 1 SMALL MATTERS 181

and the visits were returned, formally and informally.
A picture of the amenities of volunteering and of
divers other small matters is presented in the follow-
ing letter to Mrs. Madox Brown, who was recruiting
from an illness at Ramsgate : —

Mr. to Mrs. Madox Broi^n,

Cathy has been at Mrs. Stund's this afternoon, and was at the
Joneses Saturday, while I was gone to Leatherhead with my corps.
At I ,eatherhead we had the most lovely weather, and the scenery also
was magnificent, but I did not get home here till past two. Morris
got here about an hour before, and was waiting for me (asleep on the
rug). He had been there also ; we were both much tired. W. B.
Scott was in London, also his wife, I believe. He slept here Friday
night and dines on W ednesday. Of course Hunt came yesterday to
find us all out, but left a line asking me to dine to-day, but I have
other things to do. I have been working hard all day and got the
picture done all but the robins, so to-morrow I mean to write and
ask people to see it. I have written to Old White, but he has not
turned up. God bless you, dearest. I am very sleepy, and must go to
bed, having been very late three nights running. Just struck twelve.

That these symposia were not of the most quiet
description, the following extract from a letter of
D. G. Rossetti's may suffice to show : —

Rossetti to Madox Brown.

I could not mention about Liz/ie's leaving before Mr. Rae. She
tells me she felt unwell after you left yesterday, and finding the noise
rather too much for her left before your return lest she should be
feeling worse. Many thanks, all of you, for care of her during her
illness. I hope if she comes again she may be better and give you
less trouble. I write this word, since her departure must have sur-
prised you, as her return did me.

1 82 LIFE OF FORD MADOX JiROM'X 1859-61

A bevy of names, some of which are interesting,
occur in an invitation of Rossetti's of the same year :—

The same to the same.

DEAR BROWN, — A few blokes and coves are coming at 8 or so
on Friday evening to participate in oysters and obloquy. Will you
identify yourself with them and their habits ? The names of them
may probably be Gilchrist,1 Rose,2 Sandys, Meredith, Val [Prinsep],
W. M. and D. G. Rossetti.

The only other fact that remains to be chronicled
in 1 86 1 is the tranquil decease of the Hogarth Club,
which, to the relief of nearly everybody concerned,
dissolved on December 29.

1 The author of the Life of Etty and William Blake, who died three
days later.

2 J. A. Rose, a picture buyer.

THE EXPULSION FROM THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 1869.

(From the stained-glass cartoon in possession of CMrs. Hucffer.)

1862-65

CHAPTER X

1862 1865

Work during 1862 — Work Stained-glass Cartoons — The Cotton Famine
— Subjects connected with it— Exhibitions — The International Ex-
hibition— Madox Brown's Pictures there — Madox Brown and H.M.
Commissioners — Last appearance of Madox Brown's Pictures in
London— Death of Mrs. D. G. Rossetti — Moving — Domestic Matters
— Work during 1863 — Completion of Work — Description of the
Picture— The Carlyles' admiration of the Picture- -Other Designs —
King Rene's Honeymoon — Death of Sir Tristram — Elijah and the
M'idoiJs Son— The R.A. Hanging Committee Work during 1863 —
Ehud and Jtglon— Jacob and Josephs Coat -Oswald Cartoons —
Piccadilly Exhibition — Rossetti's and Swinburne's suggestions for
Advertisements — Private View, £c. — The Press — Results — Diary —
Friends' Work — 'Thomas Bullion' — (iarrick Club — Moving — Chil-
dren's Talent— Brighter Outlook.

Drum; 1862 the two W'orks dragged along. A
very considerable portion of the latter part of the year
was devoted to them — twice, indeed, in July and in
October, he writes to Mr. Leathart that for some weeks
he has been engaged on them alone.

Otherwise, the year was devoted to the production
of designs for the ' Firm.' These included sixteen for
stained glass, amongst which were the beautiful Christ
Blessing Little Children, the Nativity, and an Adam
and Eve, and several designs for furniture.

As far as sales went, the year was disastrous, as
indeed it was for almost all artists, and Madox Brown

184 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862-

was not the only one who did not sell any picture of
importance.

To a large extent this was caused by the Cotton
Famine that was at that time desolating- Lancashire
weavers' homes and paralysing almost every branch
of industry and trade in that county.

The fearful misery endured at this time seems
to have made a considerable impression on Madox
Brown. Besides contributing sums of money and the
picture known as Mauvais Sujet to the Mansion
House Relief Fund, which was opened in the fall of
the year, he was active in inducing his artist and other
friends to do the same. Amongst the pictures that he
intended to paint, but for want of commissions was
compelled to renounce, was one representing the
arrival of the first bale of cotton at the end of the
famine. The weavers, assembled in enormous num-
bers, struggled to have a hand in pushing the railway
truck on which it was placed, and the bystanding men
and women by one impulse began to sing the ' Old
Hundredth.'

Curiously enough, another unpainted picture that
he contemplated for several years had in its subject a
certain connection with the war in the United States,
namely, John Brown Assisting the Escape of Runaway
Slaves. It is a matter for some regret that neither of
these subjects, both of which must have been singu-
larly congenial, was destined to be executed. The
episode from the cotton famine would, indeed, have

1865 THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 185

seen the light on the walls of the Manchester Town
Hall, had not the subject seemed wanting in dignity
to the Committee who superintended the frescoes in
that building.

It was replaced by the somewhat unfortunate and
singularly unpaintable subject of the opening of the
Bridgewater Canal.

In the absence of more legitimate purchasers
Madox Brown was again forced to fall back upon
painting for the firm of Dickinson Bros.

However convenient the work might be as a means
of supplementing a none too easy livelihood, the re-
marks that the public of peers and general officers,
whose portraits he worked at, seem to have remained
a source of some annoyance to him, though his work,
to judge from its continuance, seems to have satisfied
his employers themselves.

To turn from his own works themselves to their
appearances at exhibitions. The only pictures of his
that claimed places were, at Liverpool the Wilhelmus^
and at the International Exhibition the King Lear,
the English Autumn Afternoon, and the Last of
England.

A certain amount of surprise may be excited by
the fact that, after the somewhat decided letter on the
subject, quoted on p. 179, Madox Brown was repre-
sented there at all. It was, indeed, only at the par-
ticular request of the owners of the pictures, and after
a definite promise of good placing from the authorities

1 86 LIFE OF FORD MAD OX BROWN 1862-

responsible, that Madox Brown once again entrusted
his works to ' Academic ' hands. This, however, did
not happen until Madox Brown had several times de-
sired 4 Her Majesty's Commissioners ' to expunge his
name from the catalogue, a request without doubt
sincere, for it was with the utmost reluctance that he
finally consented to the re-insertion.

Madox Brown to Mr. George Rae.

I have heard the light is altogether very bad for pictures, and
that the hanging will be in most cases inevitably worse. In fact, it
will be a scramble they say out of which only the very lucky can
hope to come well.

But men seem trying every nerve to get their pictures in, only
for the honour of having their names in the catalogue. ... If you
feel you could not endure to see the picture ill-placed, then I would
by all means make the condition [that the picture should be hung on
the line] ; and if it lead to the picture's never going, I should not
grieve, having been all along most doubtful about sending. How-
ever, the other two owners, Mr. Leathart and Major Gillum, both
added their strong dissent to yours as to the course I was pursuing,
and, you three gentlemen being just now more important to me than
the rest of the British public, I at once felt which was the right
course to adopt. . . .

The upshot of the rather cavalier treatment of the
Commissioners is narrated in the sequel of May 9.

The same to the same.

I am happy to tell you that the Autumn Afternoon has a first-
rate place, as well as the other two I have sent. I have not myself
been to see, having been prevented on the artists' private view
day, but I hear on all hands that all three are on the line and as
well placed as anything there.

1865 LONDON EXHIBITIONS 187

I fancy that they begin to see I am not one who will put up with
ill-usage without complaint.

Davis has also a capital place— as good as any one ; his picture
and mine, I understand, are favourably noticed in the Catalogue
Raisonne [ published by the Commissioners.

The resulting" profit of all this worry was extremely
small. Had the pictures exhibited been the artist's
own property, they might possibly have been sold
from the walls. Or had their owners had any occasion
to part with them whilst the memory of the exhibition
itself was fresh in the public mind, their prices
might have been slightly enhanced, and that fact
might have reflected beneficially upon the artist's
reputation in a country which, rightly or wrongly,
judges things by their commercial value. Neither
of these contingencies arose, and, Madox Brown
having no powerful backers in the Press of the
day, gained practically nothing from , a few favour-
able, a few unfavourable, and a number of merely
negative criticisms hidden away in the lengthy columns
in which the exhibition wras criticised in the papers.

It was his last appearance in any official exhibition
in London, and, with the exception of the exhibition of
his own works in 1865, it was the last time that any
work of his of adequate importance was exhibited in
London until his last years.

At the time of life at which he had arrived, and

1 This catalogue was drawn up by F. T. Palgrave, but was withdrawn
on account of the attacks it contained on Baron Marochetti, the sculptor.

i88 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862-

with his not inconsiderable artistic position, as well as
in consideration of the high standpoint from which he
had hitherto negotiated such matters, it was scarcely
to be expected from him that he should undergo the
annual humiliation of a more than possible rejection at
the hands of the Academicians.

Otherwise the year was uneventful ; the death of
Mrs. D. G. Rossetti had prostrated the poet-artist with
grief, and a good deal of Madox Brown's time was
spent in rendering the service of companionship. The
only other event of the slightest importance was the
removal which took place in the early part of October
from Fortess to Grove Terrace. I transcribe a letter
from Mr. to Mrs. Madox Brown, which is of interest
only as exemplifying the artist's quaint if somewhat
fussy attention to household matters. Mrs. Madox
Brown had gone to Ramsgate to recruit her health
before the arduous operation of moving.

Mr. to Mrs. Madox Brown.

MY DEAREST LOVE . . . , — Here the house is in a muddle, but
work is doing, and I am glad you are out of the way of the bother,
and, I hope, enjoying yourself. The servants, I think, get on better
at the sort of thing they are at with only one head to direct them.
We are having new tick to all the beds and mattresses, so will go
into the other house with them all as good as new. . . .

I have been working away well and quietly, but have a boil
coming on which makes me feverish; also yesterday I felt a headache
again, which made me leave off work about half-past 4 and go to sleep
on the sofa till dark. But going to the Firm seemed to do it good.
Ask Nolly if he lost my new stick, for it has disappeared. I want the

1865 \VORK 189

measure of his tunic, as I have a suit making up for his return, out
of my old uniform. Length of back, length of sleeves, and width of
tunic right round the chest, and round the hips will suffice. Tell
the kids that Ellen caught a fine young starling yesterday, which we
now have in a cage, and we shall rear it, I fancy. It flew against
her dress and so she took it. The other dick is well.

With which chronicle of small beer the year may come
to an end.

August of 1863 saw the completion of the large
Work.

With regard to the great picture itself I here tran-
scribe Madox Brown's own descriptive comment. It
would be a difficult, if not an absolutely impossible,
matter to procure a better one — a more characteristic,
would be out of the question : —

This picture was begun in 1852 at Hampstead. The back-
ground, which represents the main street of that suburb not far from
the Heath, was painted on the spot.

At that time extensive excavations were going on in the neigh-
bourhood, and, seeing and studying daily as I did the British excavator,
or //</77T, as he designates himself, in the full swing of his activity
(with his manly and picturesque costume, and with the rich glow of
colour which exercise under a hot sun will impart), it appeared to
me that he was at least as worthy of the powers of an English painter
as the fisherman of the Adriatic, the peasant of the Campagna, or
the Neapolitan lazzarone. Gradually this idea developed itself into
that of Work as it now exists, with the British excavator for a central
group, as the outward and visible type of M'ork. Here are presented
the young navvy in the pride of manly health and beauty ; the strong
fully-developed navvy who does his work and loves his beer ; the
selfish old bachelor navvy, stout of limb, and perhaps a trifle tough
in those regions where compassion is said to reside ; the navvy of
strong animal nature, who, but that he was when young taught to
work at useful work, might even now be working at the useless crank.

1 9o /.//•'£ OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862-

Then Paddy with his larry and his pipe in his mouth. The young
navvy who occupies the place of hero in this group, and in the
picture, stands on what is termed a landing-stage, a platform placed
half-way down the trench ; two men from beneath shovel the earth
up to him as he shovels it on to the pile outside. Next in value of
significance to these is the ragged wretch who has never been taught
to work ; with his restless, gleaming eyes he doubts and despairs of
every one. But for a certain effeminate gentleness of disposition
and a love of nature he might have been a burglar ! He lives in
Flower and Dean Street, where the policemen walk two and two,
and the worst cut-throats surround him, but he is harmless ; and
before the dawn you may see him miles out in the country,
collecting his wild weeds and singular plants to awaken interest,
and perhaps find a purchaser in some sprouting botanist. When
exhausted he will return to his den, his creel of flowers then
rests in an open court-yard, the thoroughfare for the crowded
inmates of this haunt of vice, and played in by mischievous boys,
yet the basket rarely gets interfered with, unless through the un-
conscious lurch of some drunkard. The bread-winning imple-
ments are sacred with the very poor. In the very opposite scale
from the man who can't work, at the further corner of the picture,
are two men who appear as having nothing to do. These are the
brain-workers, who, seeming to be idle, work, and are the cause of
well-ordained work and happiness in others — sages, such as in
ancient Greece published their opinions in the market square.
Perhaps one of these may already, before he or others know it,
have moulded a nation to his pattern, converted a hitherto com-
bative race to obstinate passivity ; with a word may have centupled
the tide of emigration, with another, have quenched the political
passions of both factions— may have reversed men's notions upon
criminals, upon slavery, upon many things, and still be walking about
little known to some. The other, in friendly communion with the
philosopher, smiling perhaps at some of his wild sallies and cynical
thrusts (for Socrates at times strangely disturbs the seriousness of
his auditory by the mercilessness of his jokes — against vice and
foolishness), is intended for a kindred and yet very dissimilar spirit.
A clergyman, such as the Church of England offers examples of— a
priest without guile— a gentleman without pride, much in communion

1865 M'ORK 191

with the working classes, ' honouring all men,' 'never weary in well-
doing.' Scholar, author, philosopher, and teacher, too, in his way,
but not above practical effojts, if even for a small resulting good.
1 )eeply penetrated as he is with the axiom that each unit of humanity
feels as much as all the rest combined, and impulsive and hopeful in
nature, so that the remedy suggests itself to him concurrently with
the evil.

Next to these, on the shaded bank, are different characters out
of work : haymakers in quest of employment ; a Stoic from the
Emerald Island, with hay stuffed in his hat to keep the draught out,
and need for Stoicism just at present, being short of baccy ; a young
shoeless Irishman, with his wife, feeding their first-born with cold
pap ; an old sailor turned haymaker ; and two young peasants in
search of harvest work, reduced in strength, perhaps by fever —
possibly by famine. Behind the Pariah, who never has learned to
work, appears a group of a very different class, who, from an opposite
cause, have not been sufficiently used to work either. These are the
rich, who ' have no need to work ' — not at least for bread — the ' bread
of life ' is neither here nor there. The pastrycook's tray, the symbol
of superfluity, accompanies these. It is peculiarly English ; I never
saw it abroad that I remember, though something of the kind must
be used. For some years after returning to England I could never
quite get over a certain socialistic twinge on seeing it pass, unreason-
able as the feeling may have been. Past the pastrycook's tray come
two married ladies. The elder and more serious of the two devotes
her energies to tract distributing, and has just flung one entitled,
'The Hodman's Haven ; or, Drink for Thirsty Souls,' to the somewhat
uncompromising specimen of navvy humanity descending the ladder :
he scorns it, but with good-nature. This well-intentioned lady has,
perhaps, never reflected that excavators may have notions to the
effect that ladies might be benefited by receiving tracts containing
navvies' ideas ! nor yet that excavators are skilled workmen, shrewd
thinkers chiefly, and, in general, men of great experience in life, as
life presents itself to them.

In front of her is the lady whose only business in life as yet is to
dress and look beautiful for our benefit. She probably poss.
everything that can give enjoyment to life ; how then can she but
enjoy the passing moment, and, like a flower, feed on the light of the

192 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862-

sun ? Would anyone wish it otherwise ? Certainly not I, dear lady.
Only in your own interest, seeing that certain blessings cannot be
insured for ever — as, for instance, health may fail, beauty fade,
pleasures through repetition pall — I will not hint at the greater
calamities to which flesh is heir— seeing all this, were you less
engaged watching that exceedingly beautiful tiny greyhound in a red
jacket that will run through that lime, I would beg to call your
attention to my group of small, exceedingly ragged, dirty children in
the foreground of my picture, where you are about to pass. I would,
if permitted, observe that, though 'at first they may appear just such
a group of ragged dirty brats as anywhere get in the way and make a
noise, yet, being considered attentively, they, like insects, molluscs,
miniature plants, £c., develop qualities to form a most interesting
study, and occupy the mind at times when all else might fail to
attract. That they are motherless, the baby's black ribbons and
their extreme dilapidation indicate, making them all the more worthy
of consideration ; a mother, however destitute, would scarcely leave
the eldest one in such a plight. As to the father, I have no doubt
he drinks, and will be sentenced in the police-court for neglecting
them. The eldest girl, not more than ten, poor child ! is very worn-
looking and thin ; her frock, evidently the compassionate gift of some
grown-up person, she has neither the art nor the means to adapt to
her own diminutive proportions — she is fearfully untidy, therefore,
and her way of wrenching her brother's hair looks vixenish and
against her. But then a germ or rudiment of good housewifery
seems to pierce through her disordered envelope, for the younger
ones are taken care of, and nestle to her as to a mother ; the sun-
burnt baby, which looks wonderfully solemn and intellectual, as all
babies do, as I have no doubt your own little cherub looks at this
moment asleep in its charming bassinet, is fat and well-to-do, it has
even been put into poor mourning for its mother. The other little
one, though it sucks a piece of carrot in lieu of a sugar-plum, and is
shoeless, seems healthy and happy, watching the workmen. The
care of the two little ones is an anxious charge for the elder girl, and
she has become a premature scold all through having to manage
that boy — that boy, though a merry, good-natured-looking young
Bohemian, is evidently the plague of her life, as boys always are.
Even now he will not leave that workman's barrow alone, and gets

1 865 ' irORK ' 193

his hair well pulled, as is natural. The dog which accompanies them
is evidently of the same outcast sort as themselves. The having to
do battle for his existence in a hard world has soured his temper, and
he frequently fights, as by his torn ear you may know ; but the
poor children may do as they like with him ; rugged democrat as he
is, he is gentle to the.n, only he halts minions of aristocracy in iv<l
jackets. The old bachelor navvy's small valuable bull-pup also
instinctively distrusts outlandish-looking dogs in jackets.

The couple on horseback in the middle distance consists of a
gentleman, still young, and his daughter. (The rich and the poor
both marry early, only those of moderate incomes procrastinate.)
This gentleman is evidently very rich, probably a colonel in the
army, with a seat in Parliament, and fifteen thousand a year and a
pack of hounds. He is not an over-dressed man of the tailor's
dummy sort — he does not put his fortune on his back, he is too rich
for that ; moreover, he looks to me an honest, true hearted gentleman
(he was painted from one I know), and could he only be got to hear
what the two sages in the corner have to say, I have no doubt he
would be easily won over. But the road is blocked, and the daughter
says we must go back, papa, round the other way.

The man with the beer-tray, calling ' Beer ho ! ' so lustily, is a
specimen of town pluck and energy contrasted with country thews
and sinews. He is hump-backed, stunted in his growth, and in all
matters of taste1 vulgar as Birmingham can make him look in the
1 9th century. As a child he was probably starved, stunted with gin,
and suffered to get run over. But energy has brought him through
to be a prosperous beer-man, and 'very much respected,' and in his
way he also is a sort of hero ; that black eye was got probably doing
the police of his master's establishment, and in an encounter with
some huge ruffian whom he has conquered in fight, and hurled out
through the swing-doors of the palace of gin prone on to the pave-
ment. On the wall are posters and bills, one of the 'Boys' Home,
41 Euston Road,' which the lady who is giving tracts will no
doubt subscribe to presently, and place the urchin playing with the
barrow in ; one of 'The Working Men's College, Great ( )rmond
Street,' or if you object to these, then a police bill offering 5<D/. reward
in a matter of highway robbery. I Jack in the distance we see the
Assembly-room of the ' Flamstead Institute of Arts,' where Professor

O

i94 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862-

Snoox is about to repeat his interesting lecture on the habits of the
domestic cat. Indignant pussies up on the roof are denying his
theory in toto.

The less important characters in the background require little
comment. Bobus, our old friend, 'the sausage-maker of Hounds-
ditch,' from * Past and Present,' having secured a colossal fortune (he
boasts of it now] by anticipating the French Hippophage Society in
the introduction of horseflesh as a cheap article of human food, is at
present going in for the county of Middlesex, and, true to his old
tactics, has hired all the idlers in the neighbourhood to carry his
boards. These being one too many for the bearers, an old woman
has volunteered to carry the one in excess.

The episode of the policeman who has caught an orange-girl in
the heinous offence of resting her basket on a post, and who himself
administers justice in the shape of a push that sends her fruit all over
the road, is one of common occurrence, or used to be— perhaps the
police now ' never do such things.'

I am sorry to say that most of my friends, on examining this part
of my picture, have laughed over it as a good joke. Only two men
saw the circumstance in a different light ; one of them was the young
Irishman who feeds his infant with pap. Pointing to it with his
thumb, his mouth quivering at the reminiscence, he said, ' That, Sir,
/know to be true.' The other was a clergyman ; his testimony would
perhaps have more weight. I dedicate this portion of the work to
the Commissioners of Police.

Through this picture I have gained some experience of the navvy
class, and I have usually found, that if you can break through the
upper crust of mauvaise honte which surrounds them in common
with most Englishmen, and which, in the case of the navvies, I
believe to be the cause of much of their bad language, you will find
them serious, intelligent men, and with much to interest in their
conversation, which, moreover, contains about the same amount of
morality and sentiment that is commonly found among men in the
active and hazardous walks of life, for that their career is one of
haxard and danger none should doubt. Many stories might be told
of navvies' daring and endurance, were this the place for them. One
incident peculiarly connected with this picture is the melancholy fact
that one of the very men who sat for it lost his life by a scaffold

i865 ' ll'ORK'

accident before I had yet quite done with him. I remember the
poor fellow telling me, among other things, how he never but once
felt nervous with his work, and this was having to trundle barrows of
earth over a plank-line crossing a rapid river at a height of eighty feet
above the water. But it was not the height he complained of, it was
the gliding motion of the water underneath.

I have only to observe, in conclusion, that the effect of hot July
sunlight, attempted in this picture, has been introduced because it
seems peculiarly fitted to display work in all its severity, and no
from any predilection for this kind of light over any other.

N.B. — In several cases I have had the advantage of sittings
from personages of note, who, at a loss of time to themsehes, have
kindly contributed towards the greater truthfulness of some of the
characters. As my object, however, in all cases, is to delineate types
and not individuals, and as, moreover, I never contemplated employ-
ing their renown to benefit my own reputation, I refrain from
publishing their names.

The most noted of the sitters for JJ\ir/c are,
of course, Thomas Carlyle and Frederick Denison
Maurice:. The Carlylean motif of the picture is
indeed so obvious that it is scarcely necessary to
mention it.

I am not quite able to say whether the subject was
suggested by ' Past and Present ' itself, or whether it
was entirely self-evolved. I happen to possess the
artist's copy of that work. It is of the American
edition of 1840, and was therefore most probably
acquired from a second-hand bookstall. The date of
its acquisition is not indicated, but it bears signs of
frequent perusal, \vhilst passages relating to the great
Mr. Bobus and many enunciating the gospel of ll'ork
are pencil-marked.

o 2

u/> I.If'R OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862-

The complaisant attitude that Carlyle ! adopted
towards Madox Brown was without doubt due in
some respects to the spirit of the work in which his
presentment was to figure, whilst perhaps the sardonic
expression that Madox Brown has given to Carlyle' s
face was due to that sage's scarcely suppressed con-
tempt for painters. This, however, is a mere conjec-
ture. If the Carlylean spirit is prevalent and recur-
rent, that of Maurice is not absolutely disregarded,
if we may take the lady distributing tracts to be one
of those carrying out his ' practical ' ideas.

The gentleman on horseback is the artist Martineau ;
the ' beauteous tripping dame with bell-like skirts ' is
Mrs. Madox Brown, and the ' philosophic baby ' Arthur
Gabriel Madox Brown.

The ' Boys' Home, Euston Road,' was an institu-
tion with which Madox Brown had a certain connection
through his friend and patron, Major Gillum, and with
the ' Working Men's College, Great Ormond Street,'
he was also connected as an art lecturer.

The only other celebrity that calls for mention was
Professor Snoox, the lecturer on cats. This personage
was one of the imaginary companions of D. G. Rossetti.
With his fellow Ornithorhyncus Bug (Snoox's Christian
name being Athanasius) he made about this time — or,
perhaps, before the death of Mrs. D. G. Rossetti — con-

1 When the picture was exhibited in 1865, Carlyle was one of the
most frequent visitors to the exhibition ; moreover, he wrote to Madox
Brown informing him that his wife came even more frequently, and was
a very fervent admirer of the work.

1865 AEll' DESIGNS 197

slant appearance in the conversation of the poet-artist's
more wayward moods, a fact which may recall to mind
the Shelleyan snake.

Of other designs the year was fruitful. Those for
the ' Firm ' include Abraham and Isaac, Isaac ttlcssing
Esan, SS. Paul, Elizabeth, John, and Matthew,
executed mostly in May and June, as well as the
water-colour and oil pictures of King Kciic's Honey-
moon and the water-colour sketch of the Heath of
Sir Tristram*

The same year saw also the beginning of a class
of work in connection with which Madox Brown
executed some of his most dramatic and successful
pictures. I refer to the designs for Messrs. I )alziel's
Bible. These were the Coat of Many Colours, the
Elijah and the \\~idow s Son, and Ehud and /:>/<?#.
Of these, the Coat of Many Colours was designed in
November 1863. From a list of 'works in contem-
plation,' submitted to Mr. Rae in December, 1 ob-
serve that the first conception of Cordelia s Portion
dates from this year. The other pictures mentioned
are substantially those named above.

During the visit to Newcastle in the autumn he
also painted the portrait of Mr. Leathart.

The only exhibition to which Madox Brown this
year contributed was that at Edinburgh, in the.
early part of the year. He was there represented
by the Wilhclmus, the Irish Girl, and Walton-on-thc-
Nazc.

1 98 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862-

Another with which he came in contact was that
of 'rejected pictures' at the Cosmopolitan Club. It
was organised by Mr. Holman Hunt with the very
sensible view of proving to Her Majesty's Commis-
sioners for the Academy, several of whom were
members of the Club, that pictures rejected by the
authorities at Burlington House would make a goodly
show if rationally selected. Madox Brown, not having
works that had undergone rejection, was, of course,
not eligible as an exhibitor, but he took some little
trouble in the interests of William Davis, and had the
gratification of knowing that two of that artist's land-
scapes secured excellent positions and looked their
best.

As regards the personal events of the year, it must
suffice to quote the following from a letter to Mr.
Rae:-

When you come up to town you will find but a ghost of my poor
self — all the nobler, or fatter, portions of me having entered into my
Work.

With 1864 we reach a year and period of really
astonishing productiveness. Apart from the com-
mencing of five duplicates — those of Chaucer at the
Court of Edward III., Oure Ladye of Good Children,
Take your Son, Sir, among the number — February,
March, and April saw the painting of Sir Tristram ,
a most characteristic work, and Old Toothless, be-
sides nine cartoons for the Firm ; May and June
the oil and the water-colour of King Rene* s Honey-

1 865 NEW DESIGNS 199

moon ; July and August the oil painting- of Elijah
and the Widows Son, the water-colour of which
was finished in October. August also brought the
two ' ship ' * designs for the Firm. The duplicates-
referred to were mostly worked at in August and
September.

The autumn, from October to December, saw the
commencement of the oil Coat of Many Coloiirs and
the cartoon for Ekud and P^glon.

This increased activity was to a certain extent
due to the fact that in 1864 Madox Brown conceived
the idea of holding, in the following year, an exhibition
of the picture of Work, round which were to be
grouped specimens of the stages through which his
art had passed. To ensure a sufficiently extensive
display it was necessary to have a large choice from
which to select. Thus he commenced a number of
pictures, and brought them to a point that enabled
him to finish them with ease shortly before the
exhibition was held.

As regards the subject and conceptions of the
pictures completed in 1864, I quote Madox Brown's
own descriptions :—

King Renfs Honeymoon.

King Rene was titular King of Naples, Sicily, Jerusalem, and
Cyprus, and father of our celebrated and unfortunate Margaret,
Queen to Henry VI.

1 Christ Raising Peter from the Sea and Christ Watching tlic
Disciples Labouring at the Oar.

200 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862-

He was poet, painter, architect, sculptor, and musician, but most
unfortunate in his political relations. Of course, as soon as married,
he would build a new house, carve it and decorate it himself, and
talk nothing but Art (except, indeed, love) all the honeymoon.
It is twilight, when the workmen are gone. Finished study for a
picture.

I may add that King Rene is represented as seated
on a throne with his Queen at his side, and is pointing
with the compasses in his hand to the plan of the
palace which he is building.

The exposition of the Death of Sir Tristram is
interesting as an example of Madox Brown's intro-
spective method of conceiving his subject : —

Death of Sir Tristram, from the ' Mort d' Arthur?

The romance thus called, written in English in the reign of
Edward IV. by Sir Thomas Malory, Knight, was made up of several
distinct French poems or rowans of much earlier date.

The story of Sir Tristram is complete in itself in the original, but
Malory has incorporated it to a certain extent with his grand
mediaeval epic. The bulk of the story, however, he gives, massed
together, in about thirty consecutive chapters, when it suddenly
breaks off, giving place to fresh characters and events, the death
of Sir Tristram being only mentioned incidentally later on in the
history.

This story offers many points in contrast with the other leading
narratives in the book. It has no theological and little explicit
moral intention, save that general one inseparable from characters of
innate beauty and nobleness and deeds of knightly worth. There is
but little of Christian dependence on Providence, but rather a Greek
fatalism at work with the various scenes and final catastrophe of the
drama. The love-philter brewed for King Mark, but drunk by mis-
take by his bride Isonde and Sir Tristram, her escort (before they

1865 'SIX TRISTRAM' 201

were lovers), fatally holds their free-will in life-long fetters which they
have neither the power nor the will to cast off. The lovers die
unrepentant, and there seems little of hope for them but to join
themselves to Dante's lovers in the eternal storm of passion. Next
to Sir Launcelot, Sir Tristram was the best Knight in Christendom.
Like him he erred, but he was doomed from his birth, when his
dying mother forenamed him Tristram, child of her sorrow. Our
compassionate tolerance of the lovers is artfully kept up by the
abject meanness of the character of King Mark, who labours, more-
over, under the disqualification, unpardonable in knightly circles, of
being a coward. The weapon, a 'glaive,' with which Sir Tristram
was ' traitrously slayne ' while sitting with Isonde, is well fitted for a
coward to use on his enemy from behind. It consists of a Turkish
scimitar fastened halbert-wise to a long pole. The upturned sleeve,
disclosing the concealed shirt of mail, and the large butcher-like
'anelace' at his girdle, more fitted for a yeoman than a knight,
bespeak at once the King's bloodthirsty intention and timid dis-
position.

The arms of Cornwall, which consist of money, seem most
appropriate to the mean-spirited King, and the motto, k 1 )eniers
prevaudront : (pence shall prevail), has been added as in harmony
with this coincidence. The little dog is the ' brachet ' given by Sir
Tristram to Isonde, by which he was recognised when, sickly
and half distrustful, he returned from his exile in the garb of a men-
dirant. Like other lap-dogs, he is not unselfish nor over valiant,
and without rising he only yelps languidly at his hated master.
Outside is Dame Bragwain, the Queen's tirewoman, who dares not
interfere.

The description of the Elijah and the Widow s
Son calls for no especial comment : —

We all remember how the widow in the extremity of her grief
cried out, ' Art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance,
and to slay my son?' So we can all imagine the half (or half-
assumed) reproachful look with which Elijah, as he brought the child
down stairs, would have said, 'See, thy son liveth,' and even surmise
the faint twinkle of humour in the eyes with which he would receive

202 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862-

the reply, ' Now by this I know that thou art a man of God.' The
child is represented as in his grave-clothes, which have a far-off
resemblance to Egyptian funereal trappings, having been laid out
with flowers in the palms of his hands, as is done by women in such
cases. Without this the subject (the coming to life) could not be
expressed by the painter's art, and till this view of the subject pre-
sented itself to me I could not see my way to make a picture of it.
The shadow on the wall projected by a bird out of the picture re-
turning to its nest (consisting of the bottle which in some countries
is inserted in the walls to secure the presence of the swallow of good
omen), typifies the return of the soul to the body. The Hebrew
writing over the door consists of the verses of Deut. vi. 4-9, which
the Jews were ordered so to use (possibly suggested to Moses by
the Egyptian custom). Probably their dwelling in tents gave rise
to the habit of writing the words instead on parchment placed in
a case. As is habitual with very poor people, the widow is supposed
to have resumed her household duties, little expecting the result
of the Prophet's vigil with her dead child. She has therefore
been kneading a cake for his dinner. The costume is such as can
be devised from the study of Egyptian combined with Assyrian,
and other nearly contemporary remains. The effect is vertical
sunlight, such as exists in southern latitudes. Finished study for a
picture. (1864.)

The only exhibition at which Madox Brown
was represented was that held at Stratford-on-Avon,
on the occasion of the tercentenary of Shakespeare's
birth, at which was his Cordelia at the Bedside of
Lear.

In fact, the subject of exhibitions as a whole, other
than his own projection, seems to have been more dis-
tasteful than ever to him. The want of discrimination
of the Royal Academy Hanging Committee afforded
him matter for several letters.

1 865 RELAXATIONS 203

To Mr. Rae.

By the ' Daily Telegraph ' this morning, it would appear that
Davis as well as Inchbold has been rejected in toto. I trust this is
a mistake. Also our friend Moore is among the ill-used it seems.

Hughes's pictures, however, are all well hung. He sent in three.

And later :

Jones's picture l has been badly hung by men who could not
understand the poetry of it. But I never heard two opinions about
it being one of his very finest, from such as are worth listening to.

Of course the newspapers have been down upon him, or he would
not be a grand genius, and they English newspapers. But he is all
right for fame and fortune.

Apart from actual painting and designing, the
year was much occupied with the business transactions
arising out of the exhibition of the year following, and
with negotiations with the trustees of the Flint estate.
This correspondence alone was a weighty matter,
spread over five years. I have in my possession
upwards of two hundred lawyers' letters, and a very
large number of copies of answers on the sub-
ject. They must have cost a considerable amount
of thought and an almost equal amount of manual
labour, although in many cases Madox Brown's
daughter Lucy acted as his amanuensis.

Relaxations were comparatively few. A short stay
at Newcastle and a visit to the Derby with Mr.
Morris may be chronicled. Otherwise, the approach-
ing expense of the exhibition, which Madox Brown
estimated at from two to three hundred pounds,

1 The Merciful Knight.

204 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862-

necessitated a certain drawing in of the horns of
expense. Nevertheless, an occasional dinner was
given on some such occasion as the visit of a picture-
buyer to London, but this not very often.

An amusing reference to Madox Brown's habit
of forgetting names occurs in a letter of introduction
from D. G. Rossetti, and may serve to round in the
year. It was one heralding the arrival of Mr. Spartali,
whose daughters were desirous of receiving instruc-
tions from Brown : —

D. G. Rossetti to Ford Madox Brown.

I send you this from lonides, which name (and not Jonydese)
please fix in your mind.

By-the-bye, I did not know you reported police reports for the
* Times,' but discovered such to be the case the other day on seeing
the following : —

1 " Erratum. — In a case at the Lambeth Police Court yesterday
the name of the prosecutor was erroneously given as Colnaghi. It
should have been Mather ! "

The early part of 1865 was entirely occupied by
the touching up of old pictures and the finishing of
others that had been commenced in the preceding year.

Of these, the most important were the designs for
Dalziel's Bible — the cartoon of Ehud and Eglon, and
the pen and ink of Jacob and Josephs Coat, and the
series of six designs for the Firm, representing the
Life and Death of St. Oswald, which were executed
in December 1864 and January 1865.

To these designs the following descriptions were
appended :—

,865 'EHUD AND EGLON* 205

/i /met, and Eglon, King of Moab.

4 So the children of Israel served Eglon, king of Moab, eighteen
years' (Judges iii. 14). 'But Ehud made him a dagger which had two
edges, and did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh' (xvi.).
'And Kglon was a very fat man ' (xvii.) And Ehud said : —

' I have a message to thee from God, and he (Eglon) arose from
his seat ' (xx.). ' And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the
dagger from his right thigh' (xxi.).

The costume and accessories of this cartoon are taken from
Assyrian and Egyptian remains of a remote period. These alone, it
seems to me, should guide us in Biblical subjects. To pretend that
the Semitic races, to which the Israelites belong, have not changed
in costume and character of appearance up to the present day is
against the evidence of our eyes, as may be readily seen in the
Assyrians, and those of their near neighbours, the Egyptians, in
remains we have in the British Museum to compare with the modern
Arab. Englishmen should always remember that this convenient
similarity between the Israelite of old and the Arab of our days
came into vogue in France rather suspiciously, at the time of the
French conquest of Algiers under Louis Philippe.

The Moabites having remained in Palestine from the time of
Abraham and Lot, I have given a more Assyrian character to Eglon.
Ehud, on the contrary, I have thought necessary to represent with
more of the Egyptian character, the Israelites having come from that
country.

Jacob and JosepJis Coat.

The brothers were at a distance from home, minding their herds
and flocks, when Joseph was sold. Four of them are here repre-
sented as having come back with the coat. The cruel Simeon
stands in the immediate foreground, half out of the picture ; he looks
at his father guiltily, and already prepared to bluster, though Jacob,
his thoughts given all to his grief, sees no one and suspects no
one. The leonine Judah, just behind him, stands silently watching
the effect of Levi's falsity and jeering levity on their father ; Issachar
the fool sucks the head of his shepherd's crook, and wonders at

206 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862-

his father's despair. Benjamin sits next his father, and with darkling
countenance examines the ensanguined and torn garment. A sheep
dog, without much concern, sniffs the blood, which he recognises
as not belonging to man.

A grandchild of Jacob nestles up to him, having an instinctive
dislike for her uncles. Jacob sits on a sort of dais raised round a
spreading fig-tree. The ladder, which is introduced in a naturalistic
way, is by convention the sign of Jacob, who, in his dream, saw
angels ascending and descending by it.

The background is taken from a sketch made l in Palestine.
The same remarks about costume apply to this as to the Ehud
cartoon, only that in this one the costume is still more remote and
uncertain ; the loin-cloth, as worn now by the negroes of Africa, is
probably the garment from which all others derive themselves, and
is peculiarly suited to the period. In the East, taking off shoes or
sandals is equivalent to uncovering the head with us ; on this
account Simeon stands with his straw sandals in his hands ; such also
is the reason of Ehud's sandals being left at the door, lest by any
breach of etiquette he might arouse one instant too soon the sus-
picions of the tyrant.

That the Assyrians and Egyptians used chairs as we do is quite
ascertained ; as also that their furniture was much more like our own
and the Greek or Roman than like anything modern Turkish or
Arabian.

The series of cartoons devoted to the Life and
Death of St. Oswald records the exile, the restoration,
the victory over pagans, the proselytising, and the final
martyrdom in battle and enshrining of the early Eng-
lish King of Northumberland of that name.

The first one of the series — Oswald's baptism — is
otherwise interesting as containing the germ of the
frescoed Baptism of Edwin.

The exhibition itself, which was open from

1 By Thomas Seddon.

1 865 -' NEW rATRON 207

March 10 to June 10, occupied almost all Madox
P) rown's time during those months, though in the

O o

meantime he finished the small replicas of Cure Ladyc
and of Windcnncrc.

For a new patron, the late Mr. Craven, to whom
Madox Brown was introduced though the good offices
of Rossetti and Mr. Frederick Shields, Madox Brown,
in July, commenced the small water-colour picture
called the Nosegay. This was finished in October,
and, at the suggestion of Mr. Craven, slightly altered
in November.

Later in the month Madox Brown received from
the same gentleman the commission for Cordelias
Portion. The monochrome cartoon for that picture
was begun on November 22, and the picture itself on
the 29th.

In the meantime a great deal of work was devoted
to the large oil picture of the Coat of l\lany Colours,
which had been commissioned by Mr. Rae the year
before. The picture was one of considerable size,
and, as in the case of Jl'or/c, necessitated a great deal
ot work and some little contrivance in the procuring
of accessory details.

J/^/ar ttroi^n to Mr. Rac.

As to myself and Jacob [he writes in September], I have ordered
his frame, if that is any evidence of progress. This I have been
unable to do till the other day, because I could not make quite sure
of the right measure of the picture, as there was a margin of canvas
to suit the requirements of the composition.

208 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862-

In the painting itself I have made good progress, if not quite
such expedition as was expected.

Five of the figures, the camel, and all the background are now
in —all, indeed, that is intricate or difficult except the little girl.

One reason why I do not get on quite so fast as I reckoned is
that I find in a work of this size the elaborate small drawing I made
is of next to no use except as a previous study.

I mean that, though it has been of advantage to the work in
helping to avoid errors, it is of no use to copy from. The flesh has
all to be painted from nature, and the draperies and accessories all
to be placed again.

The necklace for Levi I had to manufacture before I could
paint it.

As I am so behind the time of my promise, however, I must do
something for honesty's sake, and to make amends you must allow
me, when it is finished, to present you with a drawing equal to the
value of the interest of the money from the time I received it to the
delivery of the work. This is the least I can do.

During the last fortnight I have had to fall back on the domestic
pot-boiler from the dire necessity of keeping the establishment supplied
in victuals, but in a day or two I shall be again in a condition to
give my undivided attention to the picture.

From the I5th to the 22nd of October Madox
Brown worked continuously at the Nosegay — most of
the time in the garden, working altogether fifty-seven
hours in the seven days.

It was, of course, important that the picture, which
represents a young girl, accompanied by a majestic
cat, picking a nosegay — or, to speak more properly, a
bouquet — in a flower garden, should be finished before
the autumn frosts withered the flowers ; but this was
not an unusual number of hours' work in the week.
Sometimes it fell as low as thirty, but nine or ten

1 865 ADVERTISING 209

hours a day is a frequent record. This necessitated
working by artificial light during the evenings, and,
although Madox Brown had very little dislike to, and
still less difficulty in, painting by gaslight, he, as a
rule, devoted the evenings to working at cartoons for
the Firm.

To turn from the pictures themselves to their exhi-
bition.

By the end of December 1864 the gallery at 196
Piccadilly had been taken, and advertisements inserted
in newspapers and on the walls of railway stations.
These advertisements seem to have afforded endless
amusement to Rossetti. His letters, which, during
the previous year, had teemed with allusions to
furniture with which he was filling his new house at
Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, now contained jocular or prac-
tical suggestions as to advertisements. I quote one or
two of his more amusing letters of one kind or
another : —

D. G. Rossetti to Aladox Brown.

Fekrnarv 6, 1865. I've thought of an advertising system for you,
which is so good you must have the benefit of it. You should begin by

W

enormous placards with the one word JJ'orA, thus — •

and go on

K

with this for a week or two. Then another week of Mr. F. M.
Brown's ll'ork, and then condescend to further particulars. If, in
addition to this, you put up a sign over your door representing a
Brown Mad Ox crossing a Ford, marked British Art, with you hold-
ing on to his horns with a palette and brushes, and R.A. and Public

P

210 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862-

Press waving red flags to frighten him on either bank, the success
could no longer be dubious.

And again in a postscript : —

Swinburne announces an intention of revenge for your suspicions
by a continued placard —

BROWN!

DOWN AGAIN,

6d.

The idea of a ' one-man ' exhibition was a compara-
tively new one. Seddon's exhibition of his own works
had not been in any sense of the word a public one,
and although single works of artists — such as Mr.
Holman Hunt's Finding of the Saviour in the Temple
— or even two or three pictures by different artists,
had been sometimes exhibited, I am not aware
that the exhibition of a series of works, laying
bare the whole art-history of an artist, was an idea
that had been anticipated at a then recent date in this
country.

The exhibition included upwards of a hundred
works, of which twenty at least were works of extreme
importance, ranging from Manfred on the f-nngfrau
of 1840 to the Last of England and Work.

The other examples were almost all works worthy
of consideration, and included cartoons for stained
glass and designs for furniture.

Thus, I think it may with safety be said that an
exhibition of the same scope and personal significance
was practically unprecedented. On the whole, the

1865 THE EX/IIIUT1ON 211

experiment succeeded to such an extent as to justify
itself.

The private view took place on March 10, and the
exhibition remained open until June 10, during which
period some three thousand people paid shilling's for
entrance, exhausting' about two-thirds of that number
of catalogues. Of the number of personal friends and
professional visitors that it attracted I have, however,
no means of judging. Their number was considerable,
and is to be added to those above mentioned.1

For the rest, I will allow Madox Brown to speak
for himself* —

To Mr. Geo. Rac.

The exhibition is open at length after labours that seemed as
though they never would be done in time. The weather here is
cold and miserable to a degree which I dare say you in the 'sunny
south' will hardly credit. This, I fancy, is against the public coming,
though they have come considerably this week.

The private view was crowded, however, though it poured with
rain all day ; and many people of note attended, who must be of
influence to my destinies, though the Prince of Wales is a groat fish
that still remains to be caught. But Gladstone paid me a private
visit and delighted me much by his manners and mode-sty.

I believe people are pretty much agreed as to the satisfactory way
I have got up the exhibition and written the catalogue. The gallery,
I find, is too small for the number of works I have in it, and the
light is not so good as I could wish it ; but by careful and judicious
arrangement I have managed to secure for each picture a place that
suits it, and the whole looks filled up to excess and with something to

1 Pinwell frequently asserted that he was a pupil of Madox I>rown's
work, if not of him personally. He and another shared the expense of
a season ticket for the Exhibition, and went on every alternate day to
study the pictures there.

]' 2

212 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862-

look at at each turn of the head, the centre being darkened and
divided by curtains.

The result is that people begin to say I must have been a very
hard-working man all my life, a thing they have hardly given me
credit for as yet.

By April 19 disillusion had not yet arrived.

To the same.

The exhibition has been so far a success, and, at times, there has
been quite a little crowd, but the expense has been so great (certainly
over 3oo/. in money alone), not to mention loss of time, that I cannot
reckon on its paying in that line ; but the Press has done bravely for
me, and, in reputation, it cannot but do me much good. Indeed, I
have felt it already.

As to the articles themselves, they are all pasted down on cardboard
for the inspection of the public in the gallery. These you will have
an opportunity of reading of an evening in London. . . . The
' Saturday Review ' notice l has been made into a placard.

This, with the 'Daily Telegraph,'2 'Pall Mall'3 'Sun,"
'Reader,'5 'Athenaeum,'6 and a review coming out next month in
Fraser,'7 form the chief of what has been written. There have been
a good many others, some still coming out, and one or two black-
guard me.

Of these notices, all of them laudatory in the
extreme, the most balanced and, on the whole, satis-
factory, are that of the ' Saturday Review ' and that
of ' Fraser,' by Mr. W. M. Rossetti. The greater
portion of almost all of them was devoted to de-
tailing the subject-matter of Work, which seems, as
indeed was to be expected, to have attracted and

1 March 25. • March 24. ;t March 29. ' March 30.

• April i. ' March 11. 7 May.

////; CRITICS

213

dazzled the eyes of the writers to the partial exclusion
of the other pictures.

Their highly favourable tone is the more remark-
able when one considers that almost total ignoring
had been the lot of Maclox Brown until 1865. As a
matter of fact, even the critics of the least conces-
sionary order now showed signs of reducing their oppo-
sition to Maclox Brown's work ; and the fact that
capable writers had declared him to be a man of
genius, and that Academies had awarded him prizes,
insured him at least courteous treatment at the most
hostile hands.

The immediate results of the exhibition were a
considerable access both of patrons and of public
esteem, and the ensuing decade was the most pros-
perous and probably the happiest of his life.

His circle of acquaintances had widened very con-
siderably, and many of his old friends had risen to
positions of considerable notoriety. From the slight
diary which he kept for a short time at this period I
quote the record of several more days, which will suffi-
ciently show how Maclox Brown's life was spent at
that time : —

September \ot/i, Sunday. — Day of rest. Long walk after dinner
with Emma and the chicks.

nth. — From n to 1.30 and from 2 to 3 at the drapery of Judah;
from 3 to 6 at the Nosegay and Jacob. In the evening, from 10 till
12, placing drapery for Levi.

\2.th. — Found the draperies on the lay figure cause delay. Began
painting about 12 at Levi, till 1 1 at night, with intervals of rest. Did
little good ; quite discouraged and can't work.

2i4 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862

i3///. — To Gravesend with Emma, to fetch Lucy from Helen
Bromley's.

i4///. — Whitewashed ceiling of studio. Painted at the convolvulus
in the Nosegay.

i$th. — Miss Spartali.1 Painted at Cathy in the Nosegay.

i6th. — Painted at Cathy and rubbed it out. Put ic in again late
in the afternoon.

2o//i, Wednesday. — Cathy's head and hair. To-night for two
hours at making necklace of Levi.

2^th. — Cursed letter from Leeds 2 requiring much thought.
Sketched cat for Nosegay. Painted at Levi's necklace.

27 th. — Worked at Levi's necklace and wrote letters to divers
. people about WTork.

28^.— Tried to work at the cat. Spoiled it. Hunt called.

2t)th. — White called about Work. Got dress for the Nosegay.
Made a drawing of cat and recommenced it.

3oM, Saturday. — Long letter to Leeds about Work. Painted at
cat and placed lay figure for Nosegay.

October \st, Sunday. — Walked to Tottenham with P. P. Marshall
and Rossetti. Home in a fly with Gabriel.

2nd. — Legros called. Wasted afternoon.

8///, Sunday. — At Rossetti's. Home and Stephens and the
Marshalls to dinner.

\$th.— Worked at child's drapery. In the evening wrote lines
for a song for Emma.

yyM. — Same — languidly out of spirits. Evening — finished
Emma's song.

i8M. — Same — evening — upset on looking into extravagances.

November \^th. — Out all day. Bought horn for Levi and went
to Mudie's. Then to call on Burgess (out), Livock, Cave Thomas,
Home, Lowes Dickinson (at work), Chapman (Swinburne was in bed
asleep at 3.30 when I called), also E. Godwin, but lost his number.
Thence to Gabriel's and dined there. Howell as usual.

i8///. — Craven called and commissioned me to paint a King Lear
for 525^

1 The future Mrs. Stillman was then and for some years subsequently
a pupil of Madox Brown's. - About Work.

1 865 HOSSETTJ'S WORK 215

i. — Evening Webb and Anthony dined with us.

20/1//, Monda\. — At the Nosegay till 12. Then with Emma to
look after houses. Dined with the Burne-Joneses.

23^/, Thursday. — Out after houses all day and to see Gabriel,
who was wished to say the size his drawing would be, to have mine '
the same size, but he flatly refused to say. His good word, how-
ever, has got me the commission in some degree.

2$th. — To church, to call on the Tebbs, Joneses2 to dinner
with us. Up late considering accounts, being necessary to settle
with Kentish Town tradespeople before leaving.

The doings of his brother artists Madox Brown
chronicles at some length in his letters to Mr. Rae.

F. Madox Brown to Mr. Geo. Rae.

Rossetti is, I know, well and at work on your picture.3 He has,
I believe, introduced a fourth figure of a black child into it since
you saw it. Hughes is very well and at work for the Academy, but
I have not had time to see on what. Jones and his wife are pros-
pering, I believe.

Morris is producing glass with the usual satisfactory results, and
they have a man of more business-like habits introduced now at Red
Lion Square, which I hope will tell in favour of the Firm. Prinsep I
have not seen, but I believe he thrives according to wont. Martineau
has been at death's door with rheumatic fever.

And again : —

Same to the same.

I was at an evening party at Rossetti's the other night, and there
we saw the picture doing for you. It looked far advanced, and I
have no hesitation in saying that it will be one of the finest pictures

1 The King Lear.

2 'Jones' in each case refers to Sir E. Burne-Jones of to-day.

3 The llridc.

2i6 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862-

ever painted, and perhaps the best he has yet done. If I had any
share in biassing your inclination towards it I shall never regret it.

I myself am not near so satisfactory as yet as to quantity, but I
trust to do a good deal more before you are back, and in quality it
shall be of the best, and if Rossetti keeps time better than I, / think
you gain by the exchange of our position and habits.

The italicised remark I must confess myself unable
to understand.

Later in the year Madox Brown writes :—

All the news that I know about myself and the artistic sphere
generally I will keep you posted in with empressement. ... As to
other men, as I scarcely ever go out I see little. I was at Rossetti's
Sunday week, and saw the Bride looking as lovely as ever and nearly
done. I also saw Gambart's Blue Tile Lady? which seems coming
on admirably.

Hughes is away at the seaside, so I have seen nothing of him.
I hear Prinsep has a very admirable head at Liverpool, said to belong
to you.

Stanhope has had to leave his beautiful JVebb-buih house and
come up to London, where he is established for the present at Little
Campden House, that once belonged to Egg, the R.A.

Morris also leaves his house (at Upton), and takes up with the
Firm in a large house in Queen Square.

Chapman has returned from Spain and Biarritz, in improved
health and with a number of drawings, some, they say, very lovely —
slovenly, but full of poetry and art.

With the exception that Holman Hunt marries and goes to
Jerusalem, this closes up my budget of news.

On November 20 :—

Same to the same.

Rossetti some three weeks ago told me that he meant for certain
to let you have the Beloved this year. Three days ago I saw it. He
had painted in some tiger-lilies.

1 The Blue Bower.

1 865 l THOMAS BULLION* 217

He tells me the Bine Tile Lady he painted for Gambart has been
sold by him to Mr. Men/el for 1,500 guineas. So he says : —

' Xo\v Rae's picture must be worth at leas' 3,000, as there is
more than double the work in it.' Logical, is it not? Only every-
one is not a Gambart.

I quote incidentally a rather interesting apprecia-
tion by Madox Brown of Mr. Rae's 'Thomas Bullion ;
or, the Letters of a County Banker : ' —

Same to the same.

I have not yet acknowledged the receipt of your little book. I
wanted to finish reading it, but have not yet quite done so. I do
not find it dry reading at all. I may be of a more inquiring turn
than some of the painter-poet tribe, but I find it more interesting than
a volume of poems I had sent me some time before by Allingham.

The perfection of clearness it exhibits, something like that of
Cobden's speeches, makes it interesting as art, and the quality is
anything but a common-place one.

The power of making things clear to others is one of the highest
always in art and business matters, though not thought so much of
by second-rate folk. But beyond this the taste in which it is written
I think most deserving of remark, for there appears constantly an
undercurrent of humour sufficient to give a zest to the work, but
rather repressed than tried for.

The characters are only hinted at, but it reads as though, had the
author chosen, he might easily have employed such glimpses as are
given of Twist - Farmer and Bowdley and Starkey, or the clerk who
uses four steel pens a day— into very amusing papers for Dickens's
Journal, and the two or three stories, told with perfection of sim-
plicity, are like Balzac's stories, good in themselves, not forced into
fun by the telling.

Of events other than those already narrated the
year was barren. The end of it found Madox Brown
decided to remove from the outskirts to a more central

218 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862-

position, with the result that the February following-
found him established in the comparatively well-known
house at 37 Fitzroy Square. To Rossetti's influence
this was to a great extent due. He was at this
time quite indefatigable in his exertions on behalf of
Madox Brown, telling all his influential friends that
4 you are a great swell,' and putting Madox Brown's
name down for admission to the Garrick Club. Millais
was the proposer, D. G. Rossetti the seconder, and a
great many members added their names ; but there
was a strong prejudice in the minds of five or six of
the members against artists who held ' one-man ' ex-
hibitions. 'Even Frith' Rossetti says, 'only managed
to slip in.' Madox Brown accordingly withdrew his
candidature for fear of a black ball. In the matter of
the moving, however, Rossetti wrote a letter which
practically carried the day and made Madox Brown
abandon his Hyrcanian deserts :—

October 2, 1865. — Since seeing you I have been thinking very
seriously of what you told me respecting your position, and I feel it
a duty to write a special note, saying how very necessary I am con-
vinced it is that you should come to a more central situation without
delay. I am confident that the difficulty lies in great measure in
that question. If you were at all near me, I could satisfy at once
the wishes continually expressed to me by different picture-buyers to
sec what you have to show, by bringing them myself to your studio,
or making sure that they went there ; but at present not one of those
who would be glad to do so is even able to reach you. This is a
very simple, but a terribly real disadvantage at which you place your-
self, and I advise you more strongly than ever to bring it to an end
immediately at the cost of any minor inconvenience whatever. If
you like I will do what I can towards finding you a suitable house

1865 NEW LIFE 219

somewhere in this or any available neighbourhood when I am out,
and will make all the inquiries I can.

The close of the year and the change of abode
may fairly be said to have marked a very decided
stage in Madox Brown's career. A period had been
put to the long struggle against adversity, and Madox
Brown's position had changed from that of an almost
unknown iconoclast to that of an artist only officially
unrecognised, whilst his house became one of the
chief resorts of those men of genius and talent who,
like himself, were mostly 4 officially unrecognised.'

A new factor of Madox Brown's life began at
about this time to make itself felt. I refer to the
artistic talent that was beginning to show itself in his
children.

Of these the only son then surviving, Oliver Madox,
attained during his short life to a reputation of great
promise and no little achievement ; the elder daughter,
Lucy, if perhaps not so widely known to the public,
painted a number of pictures of extreme dramatic and
poetic interest ; whilst several works by the younger
and still surviving daughter, Catherine, have been seen
on the walls of the Royal Academy and at other
London exhibitions.

To these I shall refer in clue course. At the date
under consideration Oliver was still a child of nine,
with all the mischievous instincts and no small share
of the outspokenness of the enfant terrible. He had,
however, even at that early age, shown signs of

220 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1862-65

remarkable talent. His Centaurs Hunting, a childish
performance in point of technique > is yet not wanting
in vigour ; and the colour, even if to a certain extent
fortuitous, is by no means unpleasing, qualities which
almost remove it from the category of even unusually
promising infantile performances.

Thus for a decade or so Madox Brown's life bade
fair to be both prosperous and happy.

1866-68

CHAPTER XI

1866-1868

Work during 1866— Jacob and Joseph 's Coat —Entombment — Cordelia's
Portion— Bank balance— Relations between Madox Brown and D. G.
Rossetti— Work during 1867— Replicas, kc.—Komco and Ju net— The
Traveller — Rossetti and patrons — Work during 1868 — Gout — Direc-
tions to lawyer for picture-cleaning — Gossip — Burne-J ones' s house-
wanning— The ' Boat-race '—Other artists' work, &c.— Spiritualistic
soiree— Rossetti and the 'Bogies' — His picture La Pia — Dinner to
celebrate completion of the Earthly Paradise — Thirteen at table —
Children's work — Gout — Fitzroy Square Evenings — Sending out
invitations, £c.— Letter about gout and work— Rossetti's poems —
Tragedy and mystery — Friends' work.

THE early part of 1866, which was considerably
hampered by the disjointment entailed by removals,
was occupied mainly by the completion of the lan>T
picture of Jacob and [oscplis Coat, which was finished
on April 9. Its design and the treatment of the
subject ] differ very little from those of the Dalziel
woodcut.

Another picture of very considerable importance
was carried on at the same time — the water-colour
Entombment, which was commenced in February.
The water-colour of Cordelia s Portion, another work
of extreme importance, was finished on November 21.

1 See 1864.

222

LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

1866-

As regards the subject of the latter comparatively
well known picture, it is taken from act i. scene i —
the moment being about that of France's speech.

THE ENTOMBMENT,' 1867.

Lear, the central figure, exhausted with the passion
thrown into the speeches: 'Let it be so: thy truth
then be thy dower/ . . . and ' Cornwall and Albany, with

1 From Lyra Gcrmanica.

i868 ' CORDELIAS PORTION' 223

my two daughters' dowers, digest this third,' has sunk
into his mistletoe-hung scat, with his eyes fixed on
Cordelia. His hand, which has been pointed vigo-
rously at the ma]) torn across the third part marked
Cordelia,' remains sunk in that position. France,
saying, ' Fairest Cordelia, thou art most rich, being
poor,' takes her by the hand. Cordelia during his
speech seems to have lost somewhat of the acid self-
possession that found words for her dismissal of
Burgundy. Goneril, Regan, and their husbands,
supporting the King on his right, have their fingers
interlaced in the interstices of the crown. At the
back of the King's throne the subsidiary figures of
the tragedy crowd to look over the back of the high
throne or each other's shoulders. Right in the back-
ground Kent is still lingering, looking back from
the doorway.

The costume is once again that of the undefined,
semi-mythical period, in which, as I have said, Madox
Brown delighted to place his characters. Lear might
be a Druid ; 1 France, one of the Carlovingian kings ;
Cordelia, a slightly Byzantine mediaeval figure. The
p;ilace is an old Roman villa.

A number ot smaller undertakings — drawings for
line engraving in Mr. Leighton's Lyra (icrmanica, car-
toons for the Firm, and a duplicate of Oure Ladyc
of Good Children — occupied the remainder of the
year.

1 ' Roman, Pagan-British.' Cf. the description of Lear's bedside, 1848-9.

221 LIFE OF FORD MADOX J)RO\\'.\ 1866-

The only London exhibition to which Madox
Brown contributed was that of the famous Gambart,
where he was represented by the Jacob picture.
The result was not upon the whole encouraging- as
far as the Press was concerned.

Madox Brown to Mr. George Rac.

I should have answered your queries with more speed but for
the fact of my never yet having been to Gambart's myself. My
two girls have, however, been there to-day, and tell me Davis's 1
are well hung (one on the line and the other on the ground) and ]
looked beautiful. My own, they say, was well hung likewise (glass
left on), and, of course, they thought it the picture of the gallery.

But I suppose it is pretty well so, though I don't expect much
at the hands of Tom Taylor ('Times ') and others like him.

There has been a handsome notice in the ' Globe,' a now
revived paper l at \d., but I will send it you by next post. I can't tell
what other there may have been, except one insulting one by a

scoundrel named G ; but even he could not avoid making the

picture prominent through his unusual dose of venom.

My Cordelia's Portion is to be on view Monday, Tuesday, and
Wednesday, and then goes to its owner.

The ' Private View ' of the latter picture was a
sufficiently crowded and important function to prove to
Madox Brown that his more central position was likely
to be extremely beneficial in its effect on his material
prospects. The picture itself seems to have earned
considerable applause from the visitors, and at its
subsequent exhibition — by its owner — at Manchester
it evoked unqualified praise from the ' Reader,' - and
was treated with courtesy by the local papers, facts

1 November 5. - December i.

i86S AN APOLOGY

225

sufficient to raise Madox Brown in the eyes of picture-
buyers.

As a matter of fact, the year was a prosperous one
as far as sales went, though work had a tendency to
fall in arrears.

To Mr. Rae.

November.

I omitted, by a quite unpardonable slip, to notice in any way
your kind invitation to come with Rossetti and see your new house.
I can only account for it by the fact of my having so long delayed
to inform you as to Davis, so that I was anxious as to that, and was
in haste to save the post, and felt exceedingly thick-skulled with
working hurriedly to get my Cordelia done for Monday.

As to the proposed excursion, what can I say ? You know that
it must be exceedingly tempting to a poor brute kept with his nose
to the grindstone as I am and must be — yet the inevitable must be
obeyed, and pictures long delayed thought of first. I have a
drawing * that even now ought to be delivered to Gambart accord-
ing to promise, and still to do, and even after that I shall be in the
same position with others ; so that I fear for the present it is impos-
sible, but I shall see Rossetti here Monday, and ask him what he
intends in the matter.

Rossetti was, of course, a frequent visitor, and
consequently only an occasional letter- writer. I can-
not, however, refrain from quoting one or two sentences
from a letter of apology for one of the ' things one
would rather have left unsaid ' that had escaped from
Rossetti in one of their conversations : —

1 A duplicate of Oure Ladye of Good Children.

226 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BRO\\\\ {866-

D. G. Rossetti to Ford Madox Brown. >*.

Nothing, on reflection, could pain me more (though certainly I did
so in a way to which I ought not to have been blind) than to inflict the
slightest pain on you, whom I regard as so much the most intimate
and dearest of my friends, that I might call you by comparison the
only one I have. ... To refer to another point (having said all that
seems possible in confession of how much I was to blame), I may
say that the suggestion of any possible obligation from you to me
seriously distresses me. Not because I think you attribute to me
thoughtlessness in any degree to such a view on my own part, for of
that you acquit me by word as well as I should in any case have
known by thought ; but because if you can disregard, as I know you
do, the great obligations under which you have laid me in early life,
and which were real ones, as involving real troubles to yourself
undertaken for the sake of one who was quite a stranger to you
at the outset — what can / think of a matter which gives me no
trouble whatever, and in which, were I inactive, I should sin against
affection, gratitude, and, highest of all, conviction as an artist ?

The letter is one which calls for no comment ; that
it mollified Madox Brown is, of course, to be taken
for granted. His position in the matter was, of
course, a difficult one. In the early days it was an
easy matter for him to confer the favours of time
and recommendations — easiest of all, of loans. But,
at about this time, Rossetti was rapidly assuming
the position of the much more distinguished artist,
with plenty of work and the power of sending picture
buyers to Madox Brown. It must, I think, have
been more difficult for him to accept such favours,
perhaps even more so the loan of -a 25!. note — the
obligation in question.

i.sr.s RELATIVE POSITIONS 227

In point of aj^e Rossetti had, of course, 'levelled
up' proportionally, and Madox Brown asked and
acted upon Rossetti's advice almost as freely as
Rossetti asked and acted upon Brown's, although
the latter's much more suspiciously independent turn
of mind must he taken into consideration.

I quote Rossetti's verdict on such a point. The
matter in question was, whether or no Madox Brown
should re-acquire his picture of Work on the chance
of selling it later on :—

To D. G. Rosscfti.

The question is not an easy one to answer under the circumstances,
but, on reflection, I have no hesitation in saying that in your place I
should secure the picture. An unfavourable sale would not only be
highly injurious, but very disheartening, and, on the other hand, if
you thought necessary to replace the 5oo/. at once, you would be
able, without difficulty, to tempt some one by so evident a bargain,
and the sacrifice would have the great advantage of being private
instead of public ; whereas, if the picture could be kept, it would be
certain to fetch a better price, even if not yet its true one, either
before or after your death. Were its subject a less purely realistic
one, I should have no fear for its fate even now, but the epoch of
Pre-Raphaelism was a short one, which is quite over, and its products
will be exceptionally valuable one day, but not yet.

Upon this recommendation Madox Brown at
once prepared to act, but a fortuitous appearance of a
purchaser put off the purchase, all idea of which was
subsequently abandoned, the picture i^oin.n" on on its
weary road.

I finish up these matters with a rather amusing-
letter of Madox Brown's to \Y. M. Rossetti, which

Q 2

228 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1866-

may be taken as a quid pro quo for D. G. Rossetti's
joke about the * Times ' police reporter. The guinea
in question was one for a subscription in aid of the
widow and children of the artist Morten, who had
died shortly before — the guinea had vanished : —

To W. M. Rossetti.

MY DEAR WILLIAM, — I afo/give Gabriel that i/. u., and he put
it in his pocket along with a like sum, which he was to give himself,
saying he'd give both the next day, or forget both.

Sure he did forget them, as was natural. . . .

P.S. — I want to speak with you someday about Stendahl's 1 book,
1 Le Rouge et le Noir,' which is indeed a remarkable work. I am
reading it slowly and savouring it, for it deserves attention. I think
an article in one of the magazines might well be made of it, for it is
without doubt the advance guard of the present school of novel.
Had I not known it, I should have set it down to Balzac, but it is
stilt more Shakespearian, and more imbued with Hamlet's subtle-
ness ; it seems quite astounding that such a book should have been
written by one of Napoleon's men. It's more like one of the latest
of the late French stories —the horrors perhaps excepted.

The ist of January of the year following saw the
commencement of one of Madox Brown's most im-
portant, as well as well-known pictures, the Romeo
and Juliet. As is the case with most of his pictures
at this date, the first stage, to which I am now refer-
ring, is that of a ' finished study ' in water-colour
for a larger picture. This was the result of the fact
that Mr. Craven, the commissioner, was only addicted
to the purchase of water-colour drawings. For Madox

1 Henri Beyle.

1 868 'THE TRAVELLER" 229

Brown it was, of course, an eminently satisfactory
circumstance. The prices paid were respectable, and,
taken together with the sums received afterwards for
the oil replicas, were almost adequate, judged by the
amount of work bestowed.

As a case in point the Romeo and Juliet might
be cited. The water-colour, a not very complicated
two-figure design, was commenced on June i and
finished on September 16 ; the whole of the time—
at most about two months' work — devoted to it,
the commission being one of \$\L 55. For the oil
picture, which was commenced in October 1867, and
finished, at the instance of Mr. Leathart, in July 1870,
the price paid was 3257., and the work bestowed on it
was about four months if considered continuously.
The prices, therefore, for about six months' work came
to 45O/. odd, which was about the average earning
of Madox Brown at this date. As a consequence,
we find that the new subjects of a well employed year
limit themselves to two — the water-colours of Romeo
and Juliet and of the Traveller, a little picture taking
its idea from Victor Hugo's poem about a traveller
who rides through a village at nightfall when all the
world besides is resting. The traveller, whose cos-
tume is that of the end of last century, rides past a
little cabaret, where the lights are just high enough
to show shadows on the blinds, whilst at the door
the comely French hostess is nursing her baby.
Beside her are her son, and a daughter who has just

23o LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROll'X 1866-

left her spinning-wheel. Close to them the hind
wheels of a post-chaise betoken the halting for the
night of the arrival, whose malic s are not yet un-
strapped. Away from this scene of tranquillity the
traveller is urging his tired horse, whilst round the
inn corner you can see the long road, running into the
sunset. At one side of it the lamp at the gates of a
chateau begins to shine out.

This little water-colour is an amplification of a
small drawing on wood made for the journal called
' Once a Week.' It accompanied a translation of the
poem to which Madox Brown committed himself.

The subject of the Romeo and Juliet is that of
Act III., Scene 5, and the opening of the scene with

Juliet's—

Wilt thou begone, it is not yet near day ?

Romeo, who is half over the balcony, with his left
foot on one of the rungs of the rope-ladder, embraces
Juliet, having his right arm round her ; his left arm is
still in the attitude of pointing towards the ' envious
streaks that lace the severing clouds in yonder east.'
Against the saffron grey of the dawning sky you can
see the towers of Verona rise, but, down below in the
garden, the shadows linger among the orange trees.

For the rest, ' you must expect a scene of passion,'
as Madox Brown wrote to the purchaser.

The picture is one of the, comparatively, most
popular English pictures in France. Its appearance
as an engraving in Paris print-shop windows is of com-

1 868

' ROMEO AND JULIET'

231

paratively frequent occurrence. Latterly the French
Government made overtures for the purchase of the

AllKAHAM AND ISAAC, 1867.'

From Lyra Gcnnanicn.

232 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1866-

oil version for the Luxembourg. Its owner, Mr.
Leathart, had, however, disposed of it from the walls of
the Chicago Exhibition of 1892.

The other works of the year were all duplicates.
The water-colour of Jacob and Joseph's Coat was
finished for Mr. Leyland in June. The small oil
version of the Entombment occupied a portion of the
middle part of the year. The oil, Cordelias Portion,
was taken in hand in November, as was the duplicate
of the Chaucer for Mr. Leyland.

Besides these, there were the usual complement of
cartoons for Morris & Co., and a pen-and-ink drawing
for the ' Lyra Germanica ' — the Abraham and Isaac,
adapted from one of the cartoons for stained glass.

As far as exhibitions went, Madox Brown's solitary
essay with Cordelia s Portion at the Dudley Gallery
was ' venomously ' received by the Press — a fact not
upon the whole to be wondered at. At that date-
one is almost tempted to say as at this — Madox
Brown's method of ' realising ' his subject was ex-
tremely novel, and was, of course, extremely exaspera-
ting to the critics of the usual jog-trot kind, especially
to those who in 1865 had risen to the height of ac-
cepting, as negatively as was feasible, the pictures of
Work and the Last of England. But Madox Brown
had by that time accustomed himself to comparatively
disregard the Press, and would not even read the
notices that his friends brought him.

He was not, however, entirely oblivious of the

i868 LOG-ROLLING 233

power of the Fourth E! state. I quote a letter to the
great Gambart touching upon a subject that is often a
sore one with artists— that of les rcrcnants du passd: —

March 2.

DEAR SIR, — Reflecting on what you told me as to the study of
the Black Prince's Head being included in your sale, and knowing
how unlikely it is, considering the peculiar nature of the work, to
fetch any price at all, and feeling how certain the low price it may
fetch, were it to be bruited about by malevolent persons in the papers
to the damage of my reputation, while few of the public will have
had an opportunity of seeing that the work in question was a slight
study painted seventeen years ago, I should feel very much obliged
if it could be withdrawn from the sale. If, therefore, you will do so,
I would undertake to paint for you in exchange for this study, some
time this year, a head of a woman or child, the same size in oil and
in full view instead of profile. Such, I believe, would be a more
valuable bargain for you, and at any other moment than this I would
have made you an offer in money, but I must at any sacrifice try to
stop the sale by auction.

Rossetti's letters are mostly occupied with news of
possible or intending purchasers : ' There is a maniac
named - — , whom I shall bring to see your things
when you are in London again, and who, I think, would
buy something.' But a week later comes the sad news :
- has turned a bad lot. Just as he was beginning
to buy, he has got engaged to get married, and is
done for. Leyland has asked me several times about
your Chaucer, which, I think, he is likely to want.
Have you heard anything from him about it?' and
so on. A little later a case of ' log-rolling ' occurs
about Dr. Hake : — ' I send you the book of Hake's

234 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1866-

for Hueffer. I did some time ago suggest to Wm.
to apply to the "Academy" for it, but he didn't
seem to think he could do so, being so very busy with
other things. I hope H. will like the book. Surely
there are many fine qualities in it, but it needs an
expositor more than most things, even in the poetic
world.'

In the early part of July the Madox Browns went
for three weeks to Calais. Nothing eventful happened
on the journey or during their stay. Madox Brown, as
might be imagined, found that many alterations in the
place of his birth had taken place during his thirty
years' absence. Otherwise : —

Here we are as dull as regular, set-in November fogs can mak<
us, with a prospect, I suppose, of Fenian fire to enliven us on GUI
Fawkes night. Otherwise the usual round of dull daubing fills in th<
nights and days.

As a result of the 'replica' habit, the year 186!
can boast of absolutely no new subjects. As far a<
work went, it was roughly portioned out as follows
Till April with the Chaucer duplicate, the middle part ol
the year with an oil Traveller ; from September to th<
end of November with the large water-colour of Elijcu
and the Widow s Son ; and the rest of the year wit)
oil duplicates of Jacob and JosepJis Coat and of th<
Entombment. Otherwise, the usual number of ' Firm
designs. At the same time he worked at one or tw<
pictures, notably the oil Romeo, which had been com-
menced at the end of the previous year. The onl]

!868 INTERRUPTIONS 235

exhibition at which he was represented was that of
Leeds, where were his four pictures, Cordelias Portion,
Jacob and fosep/i s Coat, Work, and the Last of Eng-
land', but of this, and of the exhibitions at which his
children's work figured, sufficient notice will be taken
in Madox Brown's letters that I shall have occasion
to quote.

Perhaps one reason for the diminution of the
year's tale of work was the considerable increase of
social cares that interrupted everything-. The Fitzroy
Square house, for the next ten years or so, was the
scene of a continual va et vicnt of guests of one kind
or another. Over and over again Madox Brown's
letters contain plaintive remarks of having no time for
anything.

' So surely as I take up a pen to write to you, just
so surely does someone or other turn up and interrupt
me,' he writes in August to Mrs. Madox Brown at
Yarmouth. Besides, the house was not a healthy one
—twice in the year he was laid up and unable to work.
The usual complaint was the gout, brought on to some
extent by over-indulgence in open-air painting-
witness that of the Last of England m& its blue-with-
the-cold flesh.

I shall at this point take upon myself to quote
rather freely from Madox Brown's letters touching
upon a multiplicity of points that occupied his mind
from year's end to year's end at about this portion of
his life.

236 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1866-

To Madox Brown's correspondence with Mr. Rae,
or rather to the latter gentleman's desire to be kept
informed of the doings of Madox Brown's circle, we are
indebted for several amusing items :—

To Mr. Rae.

As to news, I will give you what I have : Jones, having moved
into his new house, gave a dance, a very swell affair ; the house,
being newly decorated in the 'Firm' taste, looked charming, the
women looked lovely, and the singing was unrivalled, and we all
luckily escaped with our lives, for, soon after the guests were gone,
the ceiling of the studio (about 700 Ibs. of plaster) came down just
where the thickest of the gathering had been all night. Morris was
to have slept on the sofa on which most of it fell, but, by good luck,
went home to sleep with Prinsep. This I feel triumphantly is
something like news, but it prevents Jones having anything for the
O.W.C. this year. When you want more, I hope I shall have still
more startling events to relate.

Then follows, in three weeks' time : —
To the same.

April 9.

MY DEAR RAE, — I would have taken up your challenge at once
but that I thought it best to wait till I might be at leisure to do so
more at length. Just at this moment, though, I fear there are no
ceilings coming down to be chronicled.

I am glad to know the Jacob is got off to Leeds without hitch.
I hear there is some demur as to the lighting of the pictures, seeing
that the rooms were never constructed with any regard to such a
purpose, but they have promised me that your two shall be well cared
for, as indeed it would appear they desire, from their borrowing no
less than four of my chief works — viz. (as poor Thackeray used to
say), Jacob, Cor deli a. Work, and the Last of England.

I cannot complain of the choice, and if the people do not like
my style, it won't be for want of seeing it. Now, as to what is doing

i868 GOSSIP 237

here Saturday we went to see the boat-race from Stephens's,

at Hammersmith Terrace. It was a most lovely day, though in
London it began with a dense fog. On the river there was sunlight,
with the beautiful white mist that Turner loved to paint. Boats
were too near the further side to be well distinguishable, but the scene
was very remarkable, for, as this year the police had kept all the
steamboats back, the river was smooth and shining till where they all
followed in a fleet, bringing quite a storm of sea along with them,
which, dashing over either bank, washed many an unwary spectator up
to the middle, like the 'Eager' that at certain times rolls up the
'\\~elsh and other rivers.

Many artist-folk were there, quite a small crowd, attracted partly
by the favourable site of the house, with terrace on the river, and
partly, I suppose, owing to Stee's influential position. John Seddon,
his wife, and brother were there, and with them we took boat after-
wards to Hughes's, at Putney, and saw his pictures, tivo, besides
portraits.

One, of a young knight in a church watching his armour, was so
unfinished that one could scarce yet pronounce about it. The other,
and larger one, of a lady sitting alone by a window, in illustration of
Shakespeare's 'Sigh no more, ladies,' I think one of Hughes's
happiest efforts, finer in colour and bolder in painting than usual,
and with an indefinable charm about it that I will not attempt to
convey with a pen. . . . Blank gave a spirit soiree at which Rossetti
attended, and flowers grew under Blank's hands out of the dining-table,
and Eau de Cologne was squirted over the guests in the dark ; but
Gabriel, growing irreverent, and addressing the S.'s by the too familiar
appellation of ' Bogies/ they squirted plain (it must be hoped clean)
water over those present and withdrew. So the report runs— I was
not there.

Rossetti has had the Morrises staying with him in order to paint
Mrs. M. as ' La Pia ' from Dante's * Purgatorio.' She says to Dante :
' Remember me, Siena gave me birth and Maremma undid me.' (The
deadly marshland still in the vicinity of Siena.) ' He who with this
ring espoused me caused my death.'

It seems that, in Dante's time, a very beautiful lady was shut up
by her husband in a castle in the Maremma, and there died either
of poison or through the malaria. With Mrs. Morris for model and

238 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1866-

Rossetti for the painter, and such a subject, you can imagine some
of the tragic, fearful beauty of the picture.

Meanwhile Morris, called Topsy, has there finished the last
stories of his new two volumes of the 'Earthly Paradise,' forthwith to
appear. A grand dinner was given (by D. G. R.) in honour of the
' Topsies,' and we were all warned to appear in Togs. At the hour
named, however, the host was still in dirty painting-coat, having been
hard painting till seven ; but he soon made himself smart. How-
ever, Morris, at the last moment, was despatched to Queen Square
to forcibly bring back his partner, Faulkner, thirteen at table being
otherwise the mishap.

But Morris was scarce gone when it turned out that Rossetti had
miscalculated, and we were thirteen without Morris, and so had,
perforce, to wait till he returned, so not till nine did we sit down,
famished, but magnificent and jolly.

Later in the year, when gout had caused a cessation
of work, Madox Brown went to Yarmouth for a short
time in July. Just before starting he writes to Mr.
Shields a letter, in which he announces what is practi-
cally the discovery of his son's talent : —

To Mr. Shields.

July 5-

Lucy and Nolly are at home with me— Cathy with her mamma,
all three well. They get on with their painting, but Nolly, chiefly, is
my surprise. He seems to be turning out a perfect genius. He has
just this evening, while I was out, designed a groom forcing his horse
into the sea (subject his own), and really, as a design the thing could
not be finer — it is in the highest style of designing, combining reality
with vivid action, and a sort of noble picturesqueness that only
belongs to the higher class of men. You will think I am mad to talk
so, but I truly believe it. He shall send you some [drawings] one of
these days. My hand is not good for much writing yet, so I must
leave off. You will soon hear from me again.

*AT HOME' 239

The gout was then, and thenceforward, a fearful
scourge, but although suffering from it for more than
two months in the summer, he only allowed his paint-
ing to be interrupted for the three weeks of his stay in
Yarmouth. At times he even resorted to the use of
his left hand.

Mr. to Mrs. Madox Brown.

July 3-

John Marshall only came in by accident ; I did not send for
him ; but, as I complained that my wrist was so slow in getting
right, he said it was because I had to paint with it, and that I must
not write also, but get an amanuensis. [The handwriting is very
tortuous." I have painted all last week. The picture will soon be
done and sent off, and then I will come down but not by boat,
that comes more expensive than by rail. Is it true you are so much
better ? Are you any stouter, or at least, firmer in muscle ? God
bless you both.

A few days later the talk is all about inviting guests
to an assembly at Fitzroy Square : —

I ought to have written you before, but the weather has been
so hot that I really have not found time, for in the evening I could
do nothing but gasp and read the papers. We have made all arrange-
ments for the party to come off Tuesday week. We have written to
some first to know what to depend on, and now we have a card
engraved • Mrs. Madox Brown at Home,' and that is just come home,
and is going to be sent off at once to all. The Martineaus, the
Rossettis, and the Streets, I fear, can't come. However, Christina, if
well enough, may. The Greeks seem all ready to come, including
the tribe lonides, whom we were going to ask, but who asked
Ho\vell (as he told me last night at Tebbs's) to get them asked. The
Hardys, the Marstons, the Joneses, the Howells, the Morrises and
others have answered in the affirmative, also the John Seddons.

24o LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROll'N 1866-

We were at Blank's last night — such a stupid affair, but I will tell you
to-morrow all about it.

We have been ordering matting for the studio this morning, and
I have bought some collars and a tie for Nolly, also some socks for

him.

Upon the occasion of these parties, the house was!
thrown open to everybody, or almost everybody whose
gifts gave any claim to consideration, and many
' names ' pass through the tale of the numbers-
more than ever at a later period, say in the early
seventies.

The house was one of those large stone-staircased
buildings that abound in that neighbourhood, with
rooms big enough to hold a goodly number. Madox
Brown, as has been said, was an excellent host, and
the company, as a rule, mixed well. For the rest, the
entertainments were reasonably informal, enlivened
with songs and with dissertations on this and that,
from such and such a distinguished poet of the so-called
Pre-Raphaelite group, and adorned with so many fair
women more or less aesthetically garbed, who moved
amongst articles of furniture mostly after the ' Firm '
taste.

In the studio, the last picture stood on the easel,
with its back only to view, if it were not sufficiently
far advanced to be seen. The great picture of Chau-
cer occupied almost the whole of one side of the front
studio, and continued to do so until its sale, in 1872, to
the Sydney Museum.

iS6S KOSSETTI'S ILL-HE A //r II 241

The guests were nearly all of them people of
interest. The nickname which was accorded them as
a body was ' Pre-Raphaelite,' a better one might have
been the ' /Estheticists.' The /Estheticists, at least,
formed the nucleus, but there was a ' tail ' of occasional
visitors of distinction raninn^ from Turgeneff and
Maxxini to Mark Twain.

So many of the habitues have since passed on to
fame that these gatherings must needs be historic—
Rossetti, Burne Jones, Holman Hunt, William Morris,
Algernon Swinburne and Theodore Watts- Dun ton,
Christina and William Rossetti, Mr. Stephens; Dr.
Garnett and the all-too-soon forgotten younger ' Pre-
Raphaelite ' poets ' B. V.,' Arthur O'Shaughnessy,
Philip Marston ; and Mr. John Payne.

Music was represented by Theo. Marxials and Dr.
Hueffer, who championed the music of the future in
those past days. In the younger generation Miss
Blind, Miss Spartali, now Mrs. Stillman, and Lucy,
Catherine, and Oliver Madox Brown promised much.

Less frequent guests were younger artists like
Fred. Walker, Pinwell, who called himself Madox
Browns pupil, A. B. Houghton, or James Whistler
and Y;il Prinscp, and a host of others.

All this once a fortnight during seven years or so.
As the year 1 868 drew on towards October, Ros-
setti's health gave great cause for misgiving, though
he himself rather exaggerated the gravity of the symp-
toms. The result was his journey to Penkill Castle,

242 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1866-

where he was the guest of \V. B. Scott. His letters
thence are full of impatient commands that -Madox
Brown should follow him thither. I quote one of
several : —

D. G. Rossetti to Madox Jlrown.

October 12, 1868.

DEAR BROWN, — Your letter is perfectly insane. If a fool*/ (sic in
orig.) won't buy, try a fool. But, meanwhile, come down here. It
won't be the least use waiting for Blank, who will think all the more
of you if you are away when he calls, and I'm sure he won't be able
to call yet. . . . You really must come ; you know we should be as
jolly as possible. I would recite to you all the ignominious rhymes
I have made on Scotus, and I would make some on you too.

Madox Brown, however, was unable to leave his
work. At almost the same date we have him writing
to Mr. Shields : —

Madox Brown to Mr, Shields.

October 10.

I have had another attack of the gout, but suffered more in
comfort and looks than wrork, for though I have been bad at least
two months in all (this year), I certainly did not lose more than three
weeks of work. I was only too glad to be able to while away the
time in painting the moment it was possible.

In this connection it may be interesting to note
that Madox Brown had a peculiar antipathy to letting
his patrons know that he suffered at all from the gout,
imagining — possibly with reason — that it would make
them deem him untrustworthy as a producer. It was
probably this feeling that induced him to write to Mr.

FELLOW-ARTISTS WORK 243

Shields, an intimate friend of Mr. Craven's, as much in
extenuation of the gout as was feasible : —

The same to the same.

It was not this, however, that delayed Craven's Elijah, but the
fact that I had several other works to finish first. I have, indeed,
finished five since he gave me the commission — the duplicate of
Chaucer &ci& \hzEntombment tot Leyland; the Traveller water-colour
for Howell ; the \osegay (which I took back from Craven, and on
which I must, of course, needs begin three weeks' work again on
seeing it), and a small duplicate, Romeo and Juliet, for Mr. Graham.
I have, however, worked at Craven's in the interval, and it is all
laid in, painted in, I might say, except the heads and the widow's
arms. As I now mean to stick to it alone till finished, it will most
likely be done in five or six weeks, and Craven may consider himself
well treated, for I only had the commission in March, and the draw-
ing is large and important. As to Gabriel, I have no doubt he will
be all right in a few weeks if he continues to rest as he is now doing-
I don't think he has been overworking himself lately, certainly not
at the Perseus, for it is not begun, but for the last ten or fifteen years
past his life has been one of perpetual toil and anxiety, and he is
now beginning to feel it. . . . Nolly is going every day to Richmond
Park to paint in the background of his Jason and the Centaur an
ambitious subject, but I hope he will get through with it with my
advice.

Somewhat later, in a letter to Mr. Rae, we have
another report of the work of his fellow-artists and his
children : —

To Mr. Rae.

November 30.

As to news, we are all well in this house. Rossetti has been
ailing and told to leave off painting, so has been in Scotland for
change of air, but he has been back some time now, and, I believe,
is at work again. Hughes is well, and getting his Galahad and one

R 2

244 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1866-68

or two others ready for next year. There are a Luna and Endymion
from Keats ; a sort of autumn landscape, with a boy carrying an
ass's foal in his arms, the mother following, a subject he was struck
with in the fields one day — a beautiful thing ; and the picture of the
young knight watching his armour, begun last year.

Anthony has been again to Spain and brought home a lot of
work to finish this winter.

Burne Jones is all right, doing a great deal of work of an allego-
rical sort, always poetic and grand in colour.

I have finished and sent off four or five works this year, and my
son Nolly is hard at work on an [Infant] Jason being delivered
to the Centaur, from Morris's book. This time it is a good-sized
water-colour, and, I think, will turn out very fine. He beats me in
colour already, and, I fancy, before many years he will beat me in
other qualities also, seeing that till February he will not be fourteen
years old. This work is for exhibition. My daughters are painting
also, with like intent, so we have our hands full.

As scarcely anything that has not been mentioned
in one or other of the foregoing letters in the year
calls for special comment, it may be left to itself without
further remark.

1869-71 245

CHAPTER XII

1869-1871

Work during 1869— Don Juan-- Jacopo J-'oscari — Replicas, &c. Elijah

at Manchester — Controversy — Madox Brown's enemies His methods
of making them— Period of depression — Want of the faculty for
reclame, &c. — Re-appearance of patrons and prosperity — Brother
artists' and children's work— Rossetti's poems— A mystery and
tragedy— Death of the chameleon— Olivers sonnet— Work during
1870— Replicas— Byron subjects — Sardanapalns — The Corsair
Olivers Maseppa -Increased hospitality — Its effect on output of
work— Rossetti at ' Sealands '— Dantcs Dream — Rossetti's poems-
Tales, reviews, &c. — Rossetti's animals : zebu, wombat, &c. — Non-
sense rhymes Work during 1871 — Replicas of Entombment, Corsair'
—Sardanapalns— Designs for Down Stream Proposed subjects-
Children's work — Lynmouth — Gossip.

LIKI; its predecessor, the year 1869 is not distin-
guished as having seen the conception of many new
subjects — the only one, in fact, being the picture of
the Finding of Don J nan by I la'idcc, a largish water-
colour which was commissioned by Mr. Craven in
May, begun then and laid aside until the beginning of
December, at the end of which month it was finished.
The design, and that for jacopo Foscari, which was
also subsequently commissioned and commenced on
the last day of the year, had their origin as illustrations
for Moxon's ' Byron ' — one of the series of ' British
Poets,' of which William Rossetti was the editor.

246 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1869-

The subject of the Juan and Ha'idee is compara-
tively simple.

Juan, a nude figure, is extended on the sand, his
hand ' drooped dripping on the oar,' which had served
to buoy him up ; over him, the nurse Zoe leans for-
ward from her knees, with her hand on his heart,
whilst to the left Ha'idee stands with her eyes fixed
on Juan's face and her hands clasping each other in an
attitude of naive excitement.

In the background the rocky coast rises, fretted
into columns and needles, and, like the sky and suddenly
stilled water, the rocks and sand are almost iridescent
in colour. Haidee's costume is semi-orientally Greek
in shape, full of bright colours, and admirably fitted for
making fine folds.

The Foscari subject is even more simple — merely
representing the wife of the ' younger Foscari ' visiting
her husband in the dungeons of the Venetian Council
of Ten.

Mar. My best beloved !
Jac. Foscari (embracing her}. My true wife

And only friend, what happiness !
Mar. We'll part

No more.

Jac. Foscari. How ! wouldst thou share the dungeon ?
Mar. Ay,

The rack, the grave, all — anything with thee,

But the tomb last of all, for there we shall

Be ignorant of each other, yet I will

Share that — all things except new separation.

iS7i ENEMIES

247

Besides these two works, the number of pictures
painted was not large. In February the small water-
colour of Ronico and Juliet was finished ; in June the
oil duplicate of Jacob and foseplis Coat, and in
December the large Entombment ; otherwise there
was a portrait of Ernest Jones, the Manchester
Chartist, which Madox Brown painted from a photo-
graph. It was intended for engraving, and can only
be regarded as a work of the pot-boiling order. Of
the same class was the work which Madox Brown
was again forced to resume in the early part of the
year — that for Messrs. Dickinson.

As a matter of fact, the autumn and winter 1868-9
were scarcely prosperous seasons for Madox Brown,
and the largeness of his expenses rendered it a very
anxious time.

The only exhibition at which he was represented
was that of the Manchester Academy, to which Mr.
Craven sent the Elijah. The fact that it did not
secure the 6o/. prize — awarded to a picture by Mr.
Keelly Halswelle — excited a considerable amount of
indignation in the local papers, one of which appeared
with a leader commenting upon the matter. When
all was said and done, the fact seemed to remain that
Madox Brown's work was not singularly popular, and
that he had many 'enemies' in that town, as in many
other places.

The question of ' enemies ' in most men's career is

248 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1869-

a very difficult one to approach ; in Madox Brown's it
was particularly so.

His 'enemies' divided themselves into many
classes. There were certainly several people, artists
and others, who disliked him personally, and who
naturally conveyed their dislike from his person to his
work. Such men would be very unlikely to do him
a good turn, and might even go out of their way to do
him a bad one.

Madox Brown's personality rendered him pecu-
liarly apt to make this kind of enemy of reasonably
stupid artists, poets, and even preachers. Incautious by
nature, he would stigmatise some such gentleman's work
as 'clotted nonsense,' or end a sentence by some such
phrase as a ' cursed fool like so-and-so ' — to discover,
only too late, that the person to whom he had uttered
this opinion was the brother-in-law or fidus Achates
of the cursed fool in question. He was scarcely able
to mention an Academician, as such, without the addi-
tion of an abusive epithet, and hasty and unjust as
well as hasty and too laudatory verdicts upon works
and persons were with him matters of hourly utterance.

If we add to people thus offended and their friends
the number of those who cordially disliked his work
for one reason or another, and those who disliked his
reputation, we need not wonder that a large harvest
of tares should creep into the Brunonian wheat.

He had been forced to withdraw his candidature
from the Garrick Club because of personal unpopu-

249

larity, and now. four years later, the same causes
led to his withdrawing his candidature from the Old
\Yater-colour Society, although he was most warmly
supported in it by Alfred Hunt.

The same set of reasons, however, supplied a per
contra balance of really warm, Quixotic friendship,
which was at the bottom of almost every case in which
recognition was ever accorded to Madox Brown. To
those who came once under the influence of Madox
Brown, either as an artist or as a man, his fascination
was both remarkable and durable. To those who
never came within the circle of his bristles — artistic
and psychological — the feeling of aversion was almost
equally marked and equally durable.

To what extent this bevy of ' enemies ' hindered
Madox Brown's career must remain a problem. His
own suspicions led him to discover 'plots' where it is
certain that none existed. At the same time chance
occasionally led him to discover attempts to ' rig ' his
market, and encouraged his own and perhaps Rossetti's
abnormal suspiciousness in such matters. That he
would have been more prosperous without his enemies
is certain ; he owed them, perhaps, to the 'defects of
his qualities/ and there the matter may be allowed
to rest. It might be gratuitous to set clown to the
influence of enemies the fact that the commission
for the Don /nan was the first Madox Brown had
received for twelve months — from June 1868 to May
1869.

250 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROM'X 1869-

He himself did ascribe it to some such fact — :that a
certain irresponsible friend, who was more than half a
picture-dealer, had during that time made a tour which
took in the houses of all the gentlemen who had, up
to that date, been in the habit of making frequent
purchases from Maclox Brown's studio.

In February we find a period of great depres-
sion : —

To Mr. Shields.

February 9.

Things are rapidly coming with me to such a pass that 1 would
hail with delight and avidity any prospect of one of them,1 or indeed
of anything else which might hold out a hope of hard cash.

I have not for years known anything like it — not apparently the
faintest chance of effecting a sale on any hand or obtaining a com-
mission. Nothing seems ever now to approach the house except
Christmas bills, which come tumbling in with a will certainly ; not
so the wherewithal to acquit them. Things look too threatening
(nothing less than a combination of all England against one or two
poor devils ; even the editor of the — — seems now to cut out any-
thing Stephens attempts to write about me or any of my name) for me
to stand upon niceties, especially with you, whose good-nature is so
untiring.

They have skied 2 poor Nolly's Jason most infamously — put it, in
fact, entirely out of sight ; otherwise there was a good chance of its
having sold. Cathy's pretty head is likewise in the dark. Lucy's,3
however, is well hung and spoken of, only the papers seem more or
less in a combination to run even it down. The I )udley is on the
whole poor — with a frightfully impudent Calderon, as usual, in the
place of honour. Poynter and Mason are the Associates elect for
the R.A.— not so bad a choice.

1 Referring to the portrait of Ernest Jones.

- At the Dudley Gallery.

1 A picture called Painting — Mrs. Rossetti's first picture.

. x; , MORBIDNESS 251

It is not perhaps entirely difficult to understand the
' conspiracy ' motive that makes its appearance in this
letter. To an artist convinced, rightly or wrongly, of
his own genius and of his own industry, and who has
relied upon those qualities for the making of those
' friends at court ' who hang pictures in the place of
honour and insert laudatory articles in society or
literary journals, the existence of a ' combination ' seems
almost self-evident. Madox Brown was, upon the
whole, lamentably deficient in any knowledge of the
art with which reputations are nursed — of the long
period of watching and coaxing that is as a rule
necessary. I do not mean to claim for him a soul
above such triples, but rather the want of knack — per-
haps of suppleness of backbone. Occasionally, without
doubt, he awoke to a sense of the necessities of the
case, and indited a letter to dear so-and-so, saying
that such a picture was just about to be sent off to its
purchaser the great ironmaster, and the like. But these
were spasmodic efforts, and for one reason or another it
fell about that, with a house overflowing with journalists
and poets and painters, hardly an article was written
about, hardly a poem to, and never a picture gently
hoisted on to a line for, Madox Brown.

Morbid fits were not of very long duration,
although easily evoked by untoward happenings.
Five days later than that of the former quotation he
writes : —

252 LIFE OF FORD MAD OX BROWN 1869-

To the same.

February 11.

I have been arousing the Firm, and have extracted some cartoon
work from it. I have also got some portraits to set right for Dickin-
son & Co., which is, to me, agreeable work, and that pays tolerably
if one could only get enough of it. So with one job and another I
suppose we shall jog on pretty cheerfully, only never again will I not
jump at the first offer of a job ever made me.

A little later we hear of the same sort of work :—
To the same.

May ii.

I have not yet been to the O.W.C. but Lucy has, and says your
drawing of Hide-looks stunning, but it seems you have only one, so
the Solomon Eagle is or was not finished. Craven was here four or
five days since, and was to be here yesterday or to-day, but has not
turned up. He was in buying, or rather commissioning, mood (rule
in hand, though), for the only water-colour I had to offer him — an
Entombment — was, alas ! two inches too high, though the exact length.

This is a fearful failing in Craven's otherwise most complete
character.

I have been doing stained-glass work and illustrations chiefly of
late, but very lazily. I forget if, when I last wrote, Nolly's pictures
had been turned out of the R.A. Cathy is very well hung, and looks
magnificent.

The tone becomes more confident in the course of
the following week : —

To the same.

May 20.

The brick Craven has just given me a commission again for a
companion to Rossetti's Tibulhis, so things will begin to look brighter
again, for other commissions will follow this one, I feel. This has
been the first one I have had this year, indeed, since June, I think,
of last year. However, Lucy, Cathy, and Nolly selling four pictures
for small sums have helped to keep things square. I am going to

iS;i POETS 253

paint a Don Juan for Craven, and he thinks about a Phryne naked
by the seashore sitting to Apelles for his celebrated Venus rising
from the Sen, so isn't he developing in the amorous line?

It is satisfactory to consider that some little time
after — namely in December — the confident prediction
of new commissions was fulfilled to the number of
three, one of which was a purchase of a completed
picture, the Entombment.

Of events the year was as unproductive as was
usually the case. I quote one or two letters of mis-
cellaneous interest, or want of interest, as the case
may strike the reader. Regarding the work of brother-
artists, remarks are not many :—

To Mr. Rac.

October 5.

We dined with Hughes a few days back, but there is nothing
very new there to describe. Sir GalalnuL Endymion, and the
Young Knight still remain at the same point. He has been book-
illustrating a great deal, and taken up with a huge affair of Lord
Derby and the late Manchester Relief Committee. Nolly is helping
me to illustrate ' Lord Byron.' Lucy and Cathy and Miss Spartali
are beginning water-colours for the coming season.

Somewhat later : —

December 4 and 5.

Rossutti will soon have a splendid volume of poems in the press.
Morris's new volume of the ' Earthly Paradise ' is just out. He is to
bring it us to-night (Sunday). He brought it, and stayed to what
hour this morning you may imagine. It is full of admirable things,
most of them I had heard read from his own lips.

Rossetti's poems, which had only lately been
recovered, were a source of much interest to Madox

254 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROUN 1869-

Brown. Consultations about this and that matter con-
nected with them were frequent. It was not, however,
until the year following that they saw the light as far
as the public was concerned, and a small domestic
mystery, and an even smaller tragedy, may serve to
close in the record of the year :—

To Mr. Shields.

August 5.

I have not time for a letter (nor indeed news), but I send a
line to ask a question, a serious one some, perhaps, might think.
You must know I took Nolly down to his mamma at Gorleston
Saturday last, and while packing his things it was impossible to find
a pair of his boots. They had a few days before come home from
being soled and were of no great value, but had never been taken
out of the paper they were packed in, and were in my studio. The
only solution possible short of that of some thief having made his
way up into the studio, is that they might have got packed in
amongst some of your things. This, however, I think unlikely,
and the thing will, in all probability, remain one of those unsolvable
mysteries which every now and then turn up in life.

And a mystery it did remain. The tragedy is re-
corded in a P.S. of December.

P.S. — Chameleon's dead ! I painted him over with brandy and
water for three days, which seemed at first to comfort and revive him
— but it availed not.

The beast in question was the subject of Nolly's
sonnet beginning : —

Made indistinguishable midst the boughs,
With saddened, weary, ever restless eys,
The weird chameleon of the past world lies
Like some old wretched man whom God allows
To linger on. ...

MRS. MADOX BROWN. 1869.

I Front pastel in possession of Mr. H. Rathbone. )

1871 U'ORK DURING 1870 255

A really remarkable instance of its author's pre-
cocious genius, however nurtured by the atmosphere
of his father's studio, this sonnet was not considered
worthy of being submitted to the criticism of even the
home circle, and was only discovered among various
MSS. found in his desk after his early death.

The year 1870 began as one of some depression
does, and held on its course rather languidly. No
pictures new in subject were commenced, but de-
signs for pictures, subsequently executed, had their
origin in the already referred to illustrations of
Moxon's ' Byron.' The early part of the year was
occupied by the painting of a ' fancy portrait ' of Mrs.
Madox Brown, entitled May JMemories, a lady of
sumptuous charms sitting amongst a wealth of may-
blossoms, meditating upon the glories of her may-
days in the temps jadis. This picture was, however,
n-jt finished until long subsequently.

In March was begun a large oil replica of Ha'idce and
Don Juan. It was worked at concurrently with that of
Romeo and fuliet, which was finished in June-July,
and sold to Mr. Leathart. The latter part of the year
was occupied by the pictures of facopo Foscari and
the Entombment, of which the former was finished in
December.

The designs for the ' Byron ' illustrations included,
besides those already mentioned, those of the Dream
of Sardanapalns and the Return of the Corsair. The

256 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1869-

book also contained two by Oliver Madox Brown, a
Mazeppa and The Deformed Transformed.

Madox Brown, now approaching- the age of fifty,
had reached a time of life when work was no longer
the keen pleasure to him that it had been at one time.
Passages of depression and of an almost pococurante
flavour appear constantly in his correspondence, more
often in turns of phrase than in actual passages of a
languid kind, though these are not infrequent : ' I my-
self am never now other than in a depressed or
somnolent state, but it comes from interest in things
in general having decreased, not from any particular
state of the brain.'1 This on a hot June day, when
languor is not inexcusable, may be set down to a
momentary feeling exaggerated into perennial im-
portance. At other times we have : ' I have not been
at work for a fortnight, but yet so busy that I have
hardly even been able to open my letters sometimes ; ' :
or, ' I have been rather industrious till a threatening of
gout within the last four days has rather interfered
with my perseverance, but I have walked and physicked
it off, and shall do it again/3 This letter, written
four clays before the first announcement of usual
depression and somnolence, may be thought to miti-
gate its strain.

At the same time a certain disposition to leisure -
liness rather than extreme industry, if it did not

1 June 17 : to Mr. Shields. - January 17 : to the same.

:l June 13 : to the same.

.S7i CONTROVERSY 257

eliminate artistic excellences, tended to change their
tenor and direction, and certainly influenced the
number and size of his pictures.

Thus we have a recrudescence of the 'At Homes,'
which for a time had languished, a recrudescence
which, even if due, to a certain extent, to a like
easiness of the generally unaccommodating items of
balance at the bank and cash in hand, was also a
product of a greater deference to those inherited
tendencies of open-housed hospitality and easy con-
viviality which had so seriously impaired the prospects
of his ancestor, the great Dr. John Brown.

The re-institution of the ' Evenings ' was matter
for satisfaction to many of Madox Brown's friends.
Rossetti, at least, writes congratulating himself and
the world in general at the prospect, and Rossetti was
not unexacting in such matters. But the ' Evenings '
meant the disturbance of days. There were people
to be written to, and people to be talked to, not to
mention such details as the uncorking of bottles and
descents to the wine-cellar.

By this time Madox Brown's pictures had almost
ceased to appear at exhibitions. The appearance
of the J^lijah and the H'idmcs Sou at Manchester
in the winter of 1869 70 caused another storm in
the local papers — a correspondent signing himself
'Laicus' being the principal, if rather silly, assailant,
and Mr. Shields an heroic defender. Madox Brown's

258 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1869-

own feelings in the matter were, however, quite un-
stirred : —

To Air. Shields.

You may be sure your writing about me has given me the
utmost satisfaction, whatever its effect may be— and it cannot do
me harm ; I only trust, though, that it may do you no harm. In the
long run I should think it could not, but immediately people may
think you cantankerous.

' Laicus ' is certainly a very weak writer. Setting his opinion as to
my work aside, his style of argument is altogether of the feeblest and
flimsiest. But, Lord love him ! if it pleases him it can't hurt me —
at least, I think not. I suppose you have had the last word of it
now, which is a comfort at any rate.

Early in the year Rossetti was at Scalands, in
the neighbourhood of Hastings, where Madox Brown
visited him once or twice. It was at the time of
Rossetti's almost entire recovery from the malady that
beset his sight. He was more or less actively engaged
upon the great picture of Dante s Dream, and upon
the preparation for the press of the first volume of
poems, enterprises in both of which Madox Brown
took the utmost interest. Rossetti's letters are full of
details that concern either the one or the other.

D. G. Rossetti to Madox Brown.

April.

Ellis sends out copies to the principal reviews to-day, in provi-
sional covers, with a notice that copies fully bound can be had in
exchange after the 23rd, so the reviews will not have to complain of
no chance of speaking first. I shall have to come up next Monday
week in order to write inscriptions in the gift copies at Ellis's. Of
course, if you could look in at Marston's without seeming to be on

1 8; i KOSSETTrS POEMS 259

my affairs, I should he glad to hear how the ground lay, but don't
want to worry him at all.

M;idox Brown took very considerable trouble
(more, it would be safe to say, than he ever took to
further his own interests) to smooth the way for
the volume of poems, and in the end had the grati-
fication of knowing that it met with the success it

deserved.

77/6' same to the same.

May 3.

Ellis tells me that he has sold out my first 1,000 copies, all but
200, and is going to press again at once, so the two editions will
bring me in Soo/., not so bad for poetry, after all, even if the public
find themselves glutted after the second thousand.

The first 1,000 ought to have been two editions, but, 250 having
been sent to America, the remaining 750 had to be put into one edi-
tion ; at least Ellis thought it best to do so, though I think it abates
one's crow to an unsatisfactory extent.

I suppose you have seen Swinburne's wonderful article. He has
modified the passage at the end about the other poets. It is dearly
friendly, and full of splendid things, of course, but much too much so
in all reason. The * Athenaeum's ' is a very nice article, and ' Eraser's '
liable to be useful.

Xow for my foes with a clear course. I expect the 'Saturday'
or ' Spectator/ or both, to tune up on that tack. ... I am Hooded
with letters about my book ; a rather shabby one, I must say, from
Tennyson, and none from Browning as yet. I find, on inquiry, that
my 'Italian poets' is sold out, so shall reprint it immediately with
Ellis, if he thinks well to do so.

Consultations about the picture were frequent.
To F. Madox Broi^n.

August.

My soul is vexed with the following point : — The women in my
picture being 62 inches high, will it do for the man to be 65 inches,
or should he be taller? I've got him traced on the canvas, and fancy

260 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROll'X 1869-

he looks all right, but am rather nervous about beginning to paint
him, lest he should possibly need heightening. The women's faces
are 5.7 inches long. Do you think half an inch more is enough for
his face— i.e. six inches?

Proportions always bother me more than anything else. I've been
meaning to get up to you in the evenings, but was unable. May
probably come Sunday.

The soul of Nolly will be sad to hear that yesterday morning
the poor little mole was found dead after being all right over night,
and eating worms like fun. I had gone to the expense of a magnifi-
cent glazed mansion for him, which was picked up at a broker's shop.

The cares of animal life and death formed a con-
siderable preoccupation of these artists, Master Nolly
having done much to spread the contagion which had
originated with Rossetti. Passages like the foregoing
were frequent in the artistic correspondence, and the
freaks of Rossetti's menagerie formed a considerable
proportion of Madox Brown's stock of anecdotes.
The story of the zebu bull that ' treed ' the painter in
his own back garden has been frequently told. Not
quite so familiar is that of the raccoon that devoured
with equal equanimity the neighbours' fowls and
shillings worth's of prussic acid, and that was disco-
vered after a long disappearance ensconced in a locked
drawer with no visible means of in- or egress, or, for
the matter of that, of support other than that afforded
by the aforesaid neighbours' fowls.

The beast that made the greatest impression,
at least on Madox Brown, was the singularly in-
active marsupial known as the wombat — an animal
that seems to have exercised a latent fascination on

iS7i ANIMAL CARES 261

the Rossettian mind. ( )n high clays and holiday
banquets it occupied a place <>i honour on the cpcrgne
in the centre of the table, where-, with imperturbable
equanimity, it would remain dormant. On one occa-
sion, however, it belied its character. Descending
unobserved, during a heated post-prandial discussion,
it proceeded in leisurely fashion to devour the entire
contents of a valuable box of cigars, achieving that
feat just in time for the exhaustion of the subject
under consideration and consequent attention to things
mundane.

If Madox Brown may IK: believed, the wombat of
Rossetti was the prototype of the dormouse in 'Alice
in Wonderland,1 the author of which beloved work
was a frequent visitor of Rossetti's household at
Chelsea. The ' Alice ' books exercised an even greater
fascination over Rossetti — and for that matter over
Madox Brown — than the historic wombat had done ;
and so it was with Edward Lear's nonsense-rhymes,
Rossetti's parodies of which remained in Madox Brown's
memory to the end. The painter named Brown, who
had a most terrible frown, came in for his share of
those whimsical caricatures. His favourite reminis-
cence was that inscribed in the copy of the work pre-
sented by the poet to Oliver Madox Brown :—

There was a young rascal called Nolly,
Whose habits, tho' dirty, were jolly ;
And when this book comes
To be marked with his thumbs,
You may know that its owner is Nolly.

262 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BRO\\\\ 1869-

To "turn from the play of one year to the work
of the next. The first picture finished was the replica
of the Entombment^ which had been begun in October
of the year preceding and was finished in March
1871.

The next in order of completion wras the Corsair,
a small water-colour replica of one of the Byron illus-
trations, which had been begun for Mr. Craven in
December 1870, and was finished towards the end of
May 1871. The moment selected is that of the cor-
sair's return to find his beloved on her bier with the
flowers strewn on it. The presentment is sufficiently
simple — identical with that of the poem. Owring to
the tragic character of the subject, it did not, however,
give entire satisfaction to its owner, and wras eventually
returned as part payment for a larger commission, that
of a replica of the Sardanapalus subject, which was
begun in August and finished in November. In this
case the moment selected is that of Sardanapalus'
dream. The builder of seven cities in a day is repre-
sented as lying on a couch, or, to speak more precisely,
tossing in his sleep on it. Myrrha, the Greek slave
who immolated herself, is lifting up the coverlet to see
if the condition of his wounds causes his uneasiness.
The walls represent the winged man-headed bulls. In
the open doorway an archer on the watch is discharg-
ing an arrow. On the cushion at the couch-side is the
royal horned helmet, and the king's spear and shield.

Finished slightly before the Corsair were the

AND A1>ELLES> 263

small oil duplicate of Jacob andjosep/is Coat, and the
small water-colour of Romeo and /ulict.

To this year belongs the commencement of a
picture, the idea of which Madox Brown had long
cherished — that of Phrync sitting to Apellcs for Jiis
Picture of I'eints Anadyomene. That unfortunate pro-
perty the nude was, however, a necessary element of
the design, and the commissioner of the picture, Mr.
Craven, boggled at the idea at its very commencement.
Thus a picture that must have been interesting was
' abrogated and uncertain,' and finally abandoned.
The design, however, exists in one or two forms. It
represents Phryne standing on a rock on the sea-shore,
whilst on another rock, just beneath the cliffs, sits
Apelles holding his painting-board. The rocky land-
scape is suggestive of and similar to that in the picture
of Don /nan.

( )f other designs of the year the most important
were the two illustrations for Rossetti's poem of ' Dowrn
Stream,' which appeared in a moribund magazine,
1 Dark Blue.1

Of these designs, the first one, for the ' Last
Year's First of June,' is by far the more powerful—
perhaps the most powerful of Madox Brown's 'amor-
ous' designs. It is admirably summed up by Rossetti
in the passage: from a letter which I quote :—

Rossetti to iMetdox J>rowi.

MY HEAR BROWN, — I expect to see you in a few days, but must
write meanwhile to say how \-ery excellent I think your drawing in

264 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1869-

' Dark Blue.' It is like a tenderer kind of Hogarth, and seems to
me much the most successful of your book illustrations, unless
perhaps the Traveller, and I think it licks that.

The little one is pretty too. I can't, of course, judge of the
cutting, but I think it looks well on the whole. At any rate, an eye
new to the design finds nothing out of harmony.

At first sight the people in the boat look both like rustics, but I
suppose this may be otherwise when one considers the costume.
I meant my unheroic hero for an Oxford swell, though you may say
certainly that the internal evidence is rather less perspicuous than
Lord Burleigh's shake of the head in the ' Critic.'

By-the-by, you have certainly not minced the demonstrative
matter— but would there perhaps be a slight danger of overbalancing ?

At any rate, whatever may happen to the boat, I should think
there was no doubt of the Mag.'s capsizing (to say nothing of our
share in the cargo) when it contains one article on Browning as a
preacher, and another on Walt Whitman.

From letters written to Mr. Craven, who, through-
out 1871, seems to have displayed an almost unequalled
faculty for changing his mind as to the subject of
pictures, I learn that at this time Madox Brown had
in his mind several designs destined never to be exe-
cuted. Of these, one was a subject from ' Childe
Harold,' and another the Marriage of Romeo and
Juliet in Friar Laurences Cell. About the latter he
writes : —

To Mr. Craven.

I have found out a peculiarity in old Italian mediaeval marriages
which would give a comprehensible form and point of interest to the
subject of Romeo's marriage that was otherwise unmanageable, and
would have looked simply like three figures in a cell.

This has given me a renewed interest in this subject, and, if you
wish, I can still paint it for you ; but, as I have said before, with
three figures it would not pay at 125 gs.

,S7,

MARRIAGE OF ROMEO'

265

As I have no other subject that I can think of at present that
would suit this shape, should you still object to the ' Childe Harold,'
I would endeavour to meet you by putting the marriage at something
lower (say you to pay me yo/. instead of the 78/. \^s. over the

Dl.SKi.N KuK 'ClIII-DK IlAKOID.' 1869

50 gs. paid), you paying for the frame. But, if I make this reduc-
tion, you must please remember that this commission is the outcome
of three bargains, abrogated to suit your convenience, all which
pictures you had full opportunity of seeing before agreeing to.

266 LIFE Ol< FORD MADOX BRO\\'.\ 1869-

And later, when the trouble about a subject had
pursued Madox Brown even into his retreat at Lyn-
mouth, we hear of another subject :—

The only other Biblical subject that I have ever thought of
painting (except the Rahab, which is out of the question, as being
moonlit and quite other in shape) is the Nativity. This, with the
Entombment and the Washing of Peter's Feet, forms a trilogy of
subjects including Christ's miraculous Life and Death, and the
essence of His doctrine. This subject is, however, a very compli-
cated one, which I should never think of beginning without a very
large commission.

I had begun putting the Sardanapalus to the scale of the Don
Juan, but I will now wait till I hear from you if either of the new
propositions should suit Mrs. Craven, who certainly has a right to
half at least of the satisfaction to be derived.

At about the same date he writes to Mr. Shields : —

March 3.

What you say about Craven alarms me. Surely none of his
friends in Manchester could have the power to make him recant his
opinions. It must be some of my London ill-wishers. I have just
sent off to him the drawing of the Entombment, which, in the
opinion of such as have seen it, is the finest piece of colour I have
yet produced. Will you oblige me by going to see it at once (so as
to be beforehand with any opinion of an adverse kind that Craven
may be in the habit of hearing), and at the same time endeavour to
ascertain who it is that speaks against me?.

Otherwise the year was uneventful enough. Sum-
mer holidays were made a pretext for a month's stay
at Lynmouth, a theatrically beautiful little village then
scarcely made famous otherwise than by the stay there
of Shelley in the early years of the century. Here,
but for the trouble; of excogitating answers to Craven's

,S7. MISS BLIND 267

letters, Madox Brown enjoyed a time of uninter-
rupted peace, whilst his children sketched industri-
ously enough.

To the same.

July 26.

We have been here just two weeks on the north coast of Devon.
It is a most lovely spot, but we find it the reverse of bracing, and
bathing is very inconvenient ; but, for a painter, the scenery is
delightful.

Lucy, Cathy, and Nolly are all at work at landscape drawings. I
have done little myself except write to Craven. Rossetti is down
in Oxfordshire, William Rossetti gone to Italy, Morris to Iceland—
everyone somewhere. Hueffer is down here in Lynmouth ; the
Stillmans gone to America.

This is one of the places Shelley was at with his wife, Harriet,
when he was about eighteen and she sixteen. We have found an
old woman l who remembers them perfectly. I am going to draw
her, Miss Blind to make an article about her. We have got some
new facts from her.

Miss Mathilde Blind, who from this time forth
became one of the most intimate friends of the Madox
Brown family, had made their acquaintance the year
before, chiefly owing to an article on Shelley which
she had published in the 'Westminster Review,'
which had attracted considerable attention. It was
her enthusiastic description of the beauties of Lyn-
mouth which induced Madox Brown, then in search
of appropriate scenery for his Apcllcs and Don Juan,
to L^O there with his family for the summer holidays.

1 The drawing of the old woman in question was duly made, and was
sold at the Maclox Brown sale. She had been servant to the landlady
at the house at which the Shellcys had lodged.

268 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1869-

There at his invitation Miss Blind joined them. Her
love of everything connected with Shelley led her
to make repeated inquiries regarding any lingering-
reminiscences of the poet's stay in Lynmouth. At
last she discovered the octogenarian woman, Mary
Blackmore, who had once 'seen Shelley plain.'

A letter in which Shelley acknowledged a debt of
5/. passed into Miss Blind's hand, and a small sum of
money, collected by admirers of the poet, made the old
woman happy.

Rossetti's letters were frequent — most frequent those
written from Kelmscott, a house jointly occupied by
Rossetti and Mr. Morris, which Rossetti found a ' haunt
of ancient peace,' and where he managed to find quiet
spots for the composing of poems and the like, though
even there he, too, was troubled with letters from
Craven. In justice to that gentleman, it must, how-
ever, be said that dilatoriness was not a vice entirely
strange to either painter — perhaps the quality pre-
dominated in Rossetti, though from Kelmscott he
writes : —

D. G. Rossetti to F. Madox Brown.

August 3.

One might settle down into complete and most satisfactory
habits of work here. There are two splendid riverside walks to be
taken alternately every day, without a soul to be seen on the road to •
disturb the cud of composition, and at home everything lends itself
to poetic composition.

U \- heard the other day of Top, from the unpronounceable
capital of Iceland. Of course his peregrinations and much-endurings

,S7. F1TZBALL 269

had not yet commenced. An Icelandic paper was also sent, in
which his arrival was recorded as ' \Vm. Morris, skald.' He really
ought to go by no other name for the future, and the 'Bard' be

relegated to Swinburne.

A gossipy letter written a little later may serve to
round in the year :—

Same to same.

August 12.

I am writing a long ballad ' about a magic mirror. When Lucy
painted that picture,2 did she turn up any wrinkles as to such
matters? My mirror, however, is a crystal ball. I wish one could

live by writing poetry. I think I'd see painting d d if one could.

That vile rei-lica has plagued me here (it is Graham's, not Craven's,
which is still to do), but seems coming round again. I have painted
the better part of a little picture besides, but don't know who is to
buy it. I can't be bothered to stick idle names : a head is a head,
and fools won't buy heads on that footing.

I wish you'd write me anything that comes uppermost when you
have leisure.

How is Hueffer ? Tell him he will get on in the world, for he
laughed to scorn my claim for Fitzball about the 'Flying Dutchman,'
and now it is his claim (vide 'Academy').

N.B. — Of course I am only joking, and was glad to see the
great Fit/ball canonised. I think you never read his ' Auto-
biography,' which I have. I must lend it you. It is a book of
books. Old Hake has sent me ' Blind Boy,' made absolutely perfect
now. I didn't think he could do it, but if he makes the whole
volume like this it must get him a name. I have been urging him
to bring out his comic novel3 at the same time, as it gets better and
better the more I read of it. Really he is a very extraordinary man.

1 ' Rosemary."

- A picture having for its subject the Karl of Surrey being shown his
mistress through the medium of a magic mirror.
:1 ' Her Winning Ways."

270 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1869-71

I am sure the novel would astonish you. I hear that Swinburne is
visiting in Perthshire, together with Browning !

Have you any news of Shields ? I wrote to poor dear Smetham
lately, and got some of his quaint memoranda by return of post, full
of good things, but revealing, I fear, a sad state as to prospects.

1872-74

CHAPTER XIII

1X72 1874

\York during 1 872 — Portrait of Professor and Mrs. Fawcett— Convalescent

— Sardanapalus and Don Juan replicas — Rossetti's illness — Madox
Brown's account of it Rossetti's recovery 1 folding- fund-- Marriage
of Catherine Madox Brown —Madox Brown's candidature for the
Slade Professorship— Letter from D. G. Ko.s-.cUi to the Home Secre-
tary— Madox Brown's address to the Vice- Chancellor — Failure — Sir
Francis Grant, P.R.A. — Advantage of politeness — Madox Brown's
view of picture buyers Rejected pictures of the Royal Academy —
Whistlers I'ortrait of his Mother, &c. Children's work, Oliver's
v Gabriel Denver' — Work during 1873 : ^'1 Don Juan^ Jacopo FoscaH^
Byron and Mary Chau'orth, Completion of Cromwell on his Farm
(1856) — Return to Nature: Portraits — Lohengrin Piano— Lectures —
Death of William Davis Madox Brown's charitable schemes —
Rossetti's remonstrance Review of W. M. Rossetti's 'Fine Art
chiefly contemporary,' ' Gabriel Denver' Rossetti's jocular letter —
History of Charles Augustus Howell — Joachim Miller— James Sme-
tham — ' Pre-Raphaelite' poets — Work during 1874.

TIM: year 1872 was so broken in upon by distress-
ing illnesses and harassing cares that the item ' work
of the year' dwindles down almost to the confines
of nothingness, bein<>- restricted to the Portrait

O D

of Professor and Mrs. I<\iwctt, painted for and now
in the possession of Sir Charles Dilke, and to the
pastel portrait of Mrs. Madox Brown, called Conva-
lescent.

272 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROM'X 1872-

The earliest months of the year were occupied
with the finishing and retouching of the pictures not
quite finished, or commenced late in 1871 — the large
Sardanapalus. The large Don Juan, commenced in
1870, was also on the easel and frequently worked at
at odd moments until its sale to Mr. Leyland in June
of this year.

The distractions that impeded his work are summed
up in the following letter on the subject :—

To Mr. Shields.

July 17.

I am quite overwhelmed with shame when I look at the date of
your letter, but when I explain the nature of my silence you, with
your forgiving nature, will be more ready to excuse me than I can
be myself. About the time you wrote to me (May 12) I had already
lost a considerable amount of time owing to repeated attacks of
rheumatism, and before I had time to answer your long, kind letter,
a matter of quite a new kind sprang up which completely shut up
my time and attention, and that is the state of Gabriel.

He is at present in Scotland along with Dr. Hake, the poet, and
his son. I and the younger Hake went down with him there four
weeks ago. I stayed eight days, and left him with W. B. Scott and
George Hake. Now Dr. Hake has replaced Scott, and to-day I
have from him the first letter of a really hopeful kind that has reached
me from Scotland.

You must know that Gabriel for the last two years has been,
without our noticing it, subject to slight fits of eccentricity, par-
taking of the nature of delusions. He had also been sleeping worse
and worse and taking doses of chloral every night. About the time
of that horrid Buchanan pamphlet, called the ' Fleshly School of
Poetry,' this state, owing to the irritation consequent on that libel,
reached a state of development, accompanied by a kind of fit (which,
by-the-by, was falsely represented to us and his family as irrecover-

i874 XOSSETTrS ILLXESS 273

able in its nature you may judge of his poor mother's, and indeed
all our feelings), that rendered it unsafe to leave him alone. I was
some days at Cheyne Walk with him, some days we brought him
here, and then at last I got him off to Scotland and went with
him.

There his state, physically, began to improve, sleep gradually
returned to him, and with less chloral (for they dared not leave it off)
his walking power returned, for the fit had left him with a lume
leg.

The gloomy black temper and the delusions, which were to the
purpose that the whole world was in a conspiracy against him, with
the exception of a few friends, did not give way— rather the re-
verse.

But to-day Dr. Hake writes the first hopeful letter, and we have
every reason to expect that, as his mental state is none of the worst
kind, that in three or four months he will be all right again and at
work.

But it has been a fearful anxiety, and the charge of it has been
thrown more heavily upon me, owing to the fact that his brother
\Villiam seemed at one time liable to fall almost equally ill owing to
the shock to his feelings, so that I was obliged to keep letters back
and act often on my own judgment.

This state is now happily righting itself, and I do trust Gabriel's
condition will continue to improve.

I have perhaps news of my own that might interest you, but I
have little time left this morning to write it. I am painting Fawcett,
the blind member, and his wife in one picture for Sir Charles Dilke
— quite a pathetic-looking group.

My large D >n fuan has also made some progress.

Somewhat later we hear of Rossetti's recovery.
To the same.

September 6.

I wrote you last a very dreary letter about Rossetti. I, now that
I have good reason for doing so, write to say that he is perfectly re-
covered and at work again.

T

274 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1872 -

I know that this news will be of great and joyful import to you,
and that I ought not to withhold it.

He is still in Scotland, and Dr. Hake and his son with him ; this
week the elder Hake returns and Dunn ' goes to replace him. For
at least a fortnight Hake's -letters have invariably given the same
information — total recovery. Christina, I may also tell you, is vastly
better and down in the country with her mother.

The letters practically exhaust the subject of Ros-
setti's illness. So much, with this or that tenor, has
been said about the matter, that, although reasonably
simple, it has become rather irrationally involved.2 To
the present writer it seems that Madox Brown's letters
on the subject place the affair in a very right light.

They are the letters of a most sincere friend of the
sufferer, written to a friend so intimate and trusted
that nothing material was omitted, and nothing ex-
tenuated.

The absence of Rossetti, even after his recovery,
engendered a number of petty tasks and problems
for Rossetti's representatives in town, and these were
shared almost equally between Mr. W. M. Rossetti
and Madox Brown, occupying a good deal of time,
a fact which Rossetti by no means ignored. Writing
from Kelmscott, whither he had removed from Scot-
land, he says :—

1 Mr. H. T. Dunn, who then and subsequently acted as Rossetti's
assistant ; the significance of the fact is, of course, that Rossetti was suffi-
ciently recovered to exchange his doctor for his assistant— his remedies
for his work.

; I do not, of course, refer here to recognised lives like Mr. W. M.
Rossetti's lately published memoir, or Mr. Knight's ' Rossetti,' but to
irresponsible tittle-tattle in the Press, &c.

iS74 THE 'HOLDING' FUND 275

A (i. Kosscf/i to Madox Brown.

September 25.

Here I am as well as ever I was in my life, which, perhaps, is a
pretty good reason for coming here. Even the lameness seems to
be giving in a little, and my voice has completely recovered.

The better I am, the more intensely I feel your friendship in word
and deed. I need not doubt that you have pardoned any feeble-
petulance of my late ailing condition.

The other distracting events of the year were
Madox Brown's gout — or, as he preferred to call it,
rheumatism— which attacked him very severely in the
spring and autumn ; an extremely dangerous feverish
illness that in October and thereabouts jeopardised
the life of Mrs. Madox Brown, and among minor
troubles, the collecting of contributions for the ' Hold-
in^' fund, to which Madox Brown contributed his
pastel Convalescent.

Holding was a youngish Manchester artist of not
inconsiderable powers, who, after having had as hard
a struggle for existence as too many artists of the
clay, received a commission that seemed to open very
excellent prospects. It consisted of painting a scene
in the environs ot Paris, whither he set out, only to
die almost immediately of typhus. The tragedy was
accentuated by the fact that the first intimation of his
death that his widow received was in a telegram from
the municipal authority of the city, asking for directions
as to the disposal of the body.

So tragic a history was one eminently calculated to

T 2

276 LIFE OF FORD MADOX KROU'X 1872-

make Madox Brown use very considerable exertion
towards aiding in the endeavour to assist the artist's
widow, which had been originated by Mr. Shields.

To Mr. Shields.

October 15.

I have got answers from Hughes, Boyce, Jones, and I). G.
Rossetti ; they will all contribute something ; and now, strengthened
with their names, I will apply to Anthony, Wallis, and Linnell.

Lucy, Nolly, Edward Hughes, and Dunn will also contribute
something. . . . William Rossetti has given me 2/. for the fund, and
Hunt promises money soon.

Two other matters occupied the latter portion of
the year, the marriage of the artist's daughter Cathy
to Dr. Hueffer, and the candidature for the Slade Pro-
fessorship at Cambridge.

As regards the latter matter a few words might
not be superfluous. As to the relative merits of the
two candidates, Madox Brown and Mr. Sidney Colvin,
it is unnecessary to say anything — it is, at any rate,
sufficient to say that the latter was successful.

Madox Brown's attitude with regard to the matter
of the Professorship he puts in this way :—

As to my chances, I know nothing, except that I have made
myself fully talked about among the parties interested, and if I be
not elected, it will be because they have determined on some other,
and not that they consider me as incompetent.

If I do not get it, I shall not care, for the work would be serious,
and I shall have done myself no harm as an artist ; in fact, I came
forward as much for a duty as from personal motives.

This pococurante attitude did not altogether pre-
clude the sending of many letters to people of influence

i874 'I'HE SLADE SCHOOL 277

by way of canvassing, and the issuing on December 20,
1872, of an ' Address to the Very Rev. the Vice-
Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.'

The immediate result of the letters sent out was
a crop of answers of an eminently flattering kind,
emanating from a large number of well-qualified ' artists
and connoisseurs.' The impossibility of judging of the
entire sincerity of such testimonials precludes my
quoting more than one letter, that from Rossetti to the
Home Secretary :

D. G. Rossetti to the Home Secretary.

December i 5.

MY DKAR Bui'CK, I do not know whether you can aid at all in
the matter I venture to write to you about, but I know that at least
you will pardon my doing so.

Madox Brown, the dearest friend I have (whose works as a painter
are no doubt known to you), is now a candidate for the Slade Profes-
sorship of Art at Cambridge. His qualifications for the post are far
from being restricted to his eminence as an artist. He has also the
widest theoretical and historical knowledge of art, and quite excep-
tional gifts as a speaker. Indeed, the true tiling to say is this, that
to obtain such a man for such a place is an opportunity rarely occur-
ring, and which, if missed, would be a subject sooner or later for the
deepest regret.

My friend's success is very near my heart, both for his own sake,
in carrying out his views in a worthy field of action, and for the sake
of art in England, which so much needs the cultivation of its coming
patrons no less than of its coming producers.

Of the 'Address to the Vice-Chancellor' I will
quote a single passage', which may possibly, since it
represents an ideal master, be intended to portray the
artist himself: —

278 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROll'X 1872-

It is still more owing to personal ascendency that the practical
man re-mains valuable. The master must also be master of his craft
— one, to lead soldiers, must have fought battles ; to impress a
medical class, one must have performed cures ; to wield authority in
the house, one must have been the ' author,' the ' auctor,' or adder
to it of at least one stone during its building ; and so likewise to the
art-seeker, the art- master, the creative genius, is indispensable. But,
to obtain and keep hold of this personal influence, it suffices not to
be a historical painter in name (a denomination, moreover, of the
vaguest), seeing that it no wise necessitates the carrying out of sub-
jects taken from history ; it requires a man with a living interest
attaching to all he does, a man so balanced as to unite executive
excellence with imagination and elevation of aims, combining gene-
ral knowledge with acuteness of reasoning sufficient for the evolution
of fresh laws where the progress of art demands them or the erase-
ment of rules become obsolete ; in short, an artist equally capable of
clothing his ideas in words or in works. Such a man commands
attention by force of judgment ; his memory is stored, but with
typical instances — heavy in grain, not with the husk and chaff of dry
facts. If his utterance be not of the most spontaneous sort, if his
periods be not always perfectly rounded, on the other hand, he never
leads his pupils astray, for, as each topic arises, his reasoning is a
match for it, and, by degrees, as his subject warms beneath him, un-
conscious eloquence is expressed, for he is original.

His thoughts run not on catalogues, nor his opinions on other
men's writings. These, when he remembers them, he identifies
with the ideas of the times which engendered them, and, with his
own mind brought to the subject, he accepts them, however oft
quoted, for what they are worth ; and of the dried leaves of common-
place is made nourishment for the living seed of thought as it takes
wing and roots itself in the brains and hearts of others, and, in the
place of the sickly plant dilettantism, expands to a powerful tree of
knowledge and love of art.1

1 Rossetti sums up the address very neatly in a letter of January 2,
•873 : — ' I have just read with much satisfaction your address, which
should be quite conclusive as to your literary claims. I wish, however,
1 had seen it in proof, as the punctuation is confused, and the sentences

i<S74 .SV/i' FRANCIS GRANT, P.R.A. 279

Taken in any sense, the passage could scarcely
have been calculated to appeal to a scholastic board of
electors ; the whole course of the address is that of a
tilt against scholasticism. The 'synopsis of a course
of eighteen lectures ' is very unorthodox, and unlikely
to appeal to donnish minds.

Having issued the address, Madox Brown waited
quietly for the decision of the authorities.

When, in January, the adverse decision of the
electors was made known, he did not display any
profound dejection ; and his non-success left the roll
of his pictures very much the richer.

A somewhat remarkable coincidence is the fact
that Sir Francis Grant, in his capacity of P.R.A.,
was one of the board that decided against Madox
Brown.

It may be remembered that that artist was the
Academician upon whom, twenty years before, Madox
Brown had turned his back on the occasion of the
skying of his Christ aud l\'lcr. I have, of course, no
idea of insinuating that that circumstance in any way
influenced Sir Francis in his choice, though, had it
done so, it would not have been an impossibly flagrant
case.

The circumstance, in any case, points to the ad-
vantage to be gathered by artists by the employment
of judicious proportions of politeness and, perhaps,

sometimes, I venture to think, rather abrupt and fragmentary in structure
though as easy as possible to clear up.'

280 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1872-

Tapleyism as a leaven to their convictions of their own
genius.

To bring a somewhat sad year to a close, I will
quote one or two letters upon more or less allied topics.
Here we have the artist's view of picture sales :—

To Mr. Rae.

I trust the works [in the collection of Mr. Craven] may afford
you some gratification, for that seems the only thing likely to be
ever connected with works of thought, labour, and imagination in
this country, since the examples of the recent sales here in London,
at which they bid 3,5007. for a David Cox that took a week to paint,
and i8o/. for a Maclise which must have taken six months. The
.great picture-buyers seem going clean off their heads.

Most people's minds now seem taken up with the number of
works which seem to have been rejected again this year from the
Academy. This, of course, does not concern me personally. I
hear that Whistler has had the portrait of his mother turned out. If
.so, it is a shame, because I saw the picture, and know it to be good
and beautiful, though I suppose not to the taste of Messrs. Ansdell
and Dobson. Rossetti's pupil, Dunn, has also had a fine work
rejected. However, it may not be fair to speak about it yet, seeing
that they may alter their minds and take them in yet. Leyland, the
Rossettis, and one or two others, dined here last night. I wish you
had been there. We were jolly.

Of the children's work we hear in July : —

To the same.

Nolly has written a novel and is engaged on another ; but this
is strictly a secret betwixt us. He has developed an astounding
genius in this line. He is only, you know, seventeen. Cathy is to
be married the first week in September. We are all pretty well in

iS74 KELMSCOTT 281

health, but I have not found time to go to a single exhibition— yours
included.

Following upon a year of interruptions and little
work, 1873 proved one of comparative industry.

January saw the completion of the large oil Don
f nan ; during February largish cartoons were made of
the Jacopo Foscari and Byron and Mary Chaicorth
subjects, as well as a duplicate of the chalk Convalescent.
The very large oil version of Sardanapalus was put in.
in outline in the same month. It was not completed
for some eighteen years.

Another instance of deferred completion occurred
in 1872, when Mr. Brockbank, of Manchester, gave a
commission for the picture of Croimuell on his Farm.
This was the picture formerly called St. Ivcs, for the
background of which Madox Brown made the journey
into Huntingdonshire described in his Diary for
1856.

This picture, to the painting of which Madox Brown
devoted almost as much care and labour as he would
have done in the Pre-Raphaelite days of its concep-
tion, occupied him during the greater part of the time
between June and October. A good deal of it was
painted in the open air at Kelmscott, whither he had
gone on a visit to Rossetti and the Morrises, and
where we find him bewailing the difficulty of getting
white pigs, though the horse and the sheep were easily
procurable.

The change brought about by this greater devotion

282 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROM'N 1872-

to Nature in the open air was extremely noticeable.
As Kossetti says :—

Your picture of Cromwell shows that, working direct from Nature,
you are capable of making an advance in execution on anything you
have yet done, and I think, if you now do this kind of work for a
while, there is a very good chance of its opening some eyes which
are shut at present.

In October, Madox Brown wrent to Llandinian to
paint the portraits of Mr. and Mrs. David Davies, a
work which occupied him until the end of November,
the rest of the year being given to the picture of
Cromwell. Among other designs of the year, mention
may be made of that for a Lohengrin Piano, which,
as its name implies, was intended to embody the story
of the Wagnerian opera. This was to have been
executed in inlaid ebony and ivory. It proved, how-
ever, too costly for execution and remains a design.

A great deal of work, of a different order, was
devoted to the preparation of two lectures on Art, to
be delivered at the Birmingham and Midland Insti-
tute in February of the following year. They were,
however, commenced in August. They contain a
great deal of very pithy argument of one kind and
another, but I must content myself with quoting Madox
Brown's own terse description of them :—

In the first,1 I propose to show that the so-called innovations of
myself and others are nothing more than is the rule at present with

1 On ' The Latest Phase of Modern Art, Style and Realism.'

iS74 A HOMILY 283

all leading European artists. In the second,1 I wish to call attention
to the difference between historic (so-called], that is, elevated and
elevating art, and the commonplace so affected by our blessed
English public, plebeian and patrician.

In April of this year, after a life of almost extreme
hardship, died William Davis, the landscape painter,
of whom I had occasion to make frequent mention
during the fifties. He left his family in very straitened
circumstances, and Madox Brown devoted a great
deal of time to furthering the scheme for benefiting
them.

Charitable matters of this sort really engrossed a
very considerable portion of the artist's time ; to such
an extent, indeed, that Rossetti several times found it
incumbent upon him to write and remonstrate :—

D. G. Rossetti to Madox Brown.

I am glad to know so good a haul was made for the poor Davises,
and quite as glad to know that the matter is well off your hands. I
certainly think it is a very serious necessity for you to stop this kind
of preoccupation rigorously. I should never dream myself of going,
as you do, into such a matter, willing as I am to help if able. (Then
follows the passage already quoted about the picture of Cromwell.}
[Your work] is of more consequence to you than the inevitable
destinies of the families of deceased artists ; besides, after all, if one
makes one's work answer, one can be of use without giving one's
time to extraneous matters.

Pardon this homily, which strikes me after writing as somewhat
cheeky.

Rossetti, however, in spite of this burst of worldly
wisdom, was by no means disinclined to admit Davis's

1 On ' Style in Painting.'

284 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1872-

special claims as an artist, upon which he dwells in
several of his letters on the subject.

Others of the miscellaneous letters of the year are
interesting, perhaps particularly so the following letter
to W. M. Rossetti : —

January 19.

MY DEAR WILLIAM, — I have been confined to my room for
three or four days with gout and neuralgia, and to-day I have taken
the opportunity to read a great deal of your ' Fine Art, Chiefly Con-
temporary,' which, I am ashamed to say, I had never well read. I
thought I had, and a great part of it, of course, was familiar to me
from having read it when it came out, but much of it, it seems, I had
never seen then nor since.

First let me acknowledge the priority of your claim ' to the
Hogarth parentage of modern art. You pointed it out to me at your
house the other evening, but briefly. I now find that you most
systematically insist upon it in a large paragraph. This I have read
for the first time this morning, and it looks as though I was a gigantic
prig ; but it is not so ; simply, we have both seen the same fact.
But you should undoubtedly claim this priority, and to this I should
have no objection.

In all I have to teach, you may perhaps observe that I set % truth
above originality/ and wish chiefly to be true, no matter whence the
truth comes.

But now, what I want to say chiefly is, that I am very much
struck with the completeness of your views as a critic generally —
allowing for certain matters which I differ from you in, and which do
not require specifying at present — and that it seems to me you only
want to make your labours take a more connected form, and go on
with what you have begun so well, in order to take rank as one of
the most eminent authorities in Europe.

No doubt they would be glad to have an English expounder of
the rights of international art law 2 as well as French or Germans —

1 A claim which Madox Brown had made in his Address to the
V.C., &c.

- This, of course, does not mean statutory law.

1 874 'GABRIEL DENVER' 285

but the English won't give them one. (Of course I reckon John
Ruskin as out of count, for I do not call his work criticism, but
rather brilliant poetic rhapsody.) The English, in fact, don't
criticise, they express opinions quite regardless of anything that may
have been long ago settled and ascertained to the contrary.

It seems to me that it is almost your duty now to set to work
upon some serious part of the history of art, such as may add on to
what you have written, and gradually round it into a whole — either
the Life of Titian, or anything else you may care for in the precincts
of art.

There is no reason that it should be in eighteen volumes, like
Mr. Snaase's — only a German could do that, and nobody would read
it till some one had re-written it — but on such a plan as to make
five or six volumes, to go with Grimm's ' Michelangelo.'

The only other event of any consequence in the
year was the publication of Oliver Madox Brown's
'(iabriel Denver,' which met with a somewhat cold
reception from Press and public, though its merits are
really extremely considerable.

Rossetti writes in November :—

I got Nolly's book, read it and wrote him, so need not say much
here. It is, of course, quite an extraordinary achievement, and I
have no doubt that, with the original tragic ending, no want would
have been felt at all. Nevertheless, I think he was quite right to
make the change for expediency's sake, and he has even managed it
excellently, but, in execution as well as in conception, the new parts
seem to be below what I presume to be the untouched old parts.

The middle of the book, ship on fire, &c., seems perfect. What
he may achieve after such a beginning at so early an age is beyond
calculation.

Rossetti's extremely numerous letters during the
year 1873 are nearly all occupied with business matters
— schemes for cajoling purchasers — in \vhich, it must

285 /,//</; OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1872-

be confessed, I). G. Rossetti succeeded infinitely better
than Madox Brown.

Occasionally — much more so than had of old been
the case — he breaks out into some such jocular vein as
the following :—

D. G. Rossetti to Madox Brown.

MY DEAR BROWN, — Allow me to point out to you that you are
becoming demented ; your conduct and telegrams are alike helpless
and fatuous.

When I found you, on Monday morning, in the character of a
torso, parting your hair down the middle, I laid the cheque in an
envelope on your portmanteau, and three times before leaving you
did I point it out to you, and did you say ' All right.' A torso has
certainly no pockets, but when you recovered from that character it
would have been much better to pocket the cheque than to shuffle it,
or allow it to be shuffled, into a pack of envelopes. . . .

Ergo, it becomes quite a question whether it be worth the while
to part the hair daily down the middle of a cranium which seems
daily to be becoming vacuous.

The exploits of a personage who figures very fre-
quently in Rossetti's correspondence formed so large
a stock of Madox Brown's anecdotic table-talk in later
days, that a brief mention of him, as seen through
Brunonian eyes, may not be out of place.

This was Charles Augustus Howell. According
to Madox Brown, his history was somewhat of this
kind.

Born of an English father in Portugal, his mother
was a Portuguese lady of title, a direct descendant of
Boabdil il Chico, or, as members of the circle preferred

,s74 C. A. HOWELL 287

to call him— the cheeky. At an early age Howell
and a brother supported his mother and sisters by
diving for the treasures of a sunken galleon that he
had purchased. This proving not altogether a lucra-
tive pursuit, he emigrated to Morocco, became the
sheikh of an Arab tribe, passed day and night in the
saddle, and after having rendered various services to
the Portuguese Government, returned to England and
became — Mr. Ruskin's secretary.1

He then set up as a picture and er /'///-dealer,
in which capacity he made a considerable fortune,
and about this period was elected as a Roman
Catholic representative to the School Board. One
feat of his that Madox Brown frequently dwelt upon
occurred when a railway company acquired the house
he occupied. Howell removed his various articles of
valuable bric-d-brac, using for the purpose a string of
forty cabs, which passed backwards and forwards for
several days between his old and new abodes. When
the railway company disputed this item of his expendi-
ture, Howell appeared in court, and not only was he
complimented by the judge upon the way in which he
had given his evidence, but he proved conclusively the
necessity of the vehicles in question as a safe means
of transit, and won his case.

Subsequently he increased his fortune by setting
up a stud of race-horses, in which his Sahara experi-

1 A selection of Howell's letters has been lately published, and
should certainly ensure for him a certain fame as a letter-writer.

288 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1872-

ences materially aided him, and finally settled down as
a J.P. and country gentleman in a western county.

The writer, of course, will not advance any of
these tales as being matters of fact. Howell was
looked upon as a sort of Munchausen in the circle-
always in request at a dinner and the like — intensely
amusing, generally regarded as mendacious, although
it was practically impossible to catch him tripping.
Confronted with a diving-bell manufacturer, his tech-
nical knowledge more than stood the proof, and no
African traveller could find fault with his knowledge
of, say, the Berber dialect, or the position of oases in
the Kalahari Desert.

D. G. Rossetti to Madox Brown.

Howell, by-the-by, has really (he says) got 4,ooo/. out of the
railway company as well as all the fittings of his house given in, but
he has to turn out of it at once, and is at his wits' end where to settle
till his tower flouts the firmament. Transactions with him seem to
be getting obscure, and I must try to lug him down here and see
what can be done by word of mouth.

You have doubtless heard that Howell, in spite of disclaimers,
has been taken from the plough, like Cincinnatus, and installed by
his county's need in the responsible position of Catholic representa-
tive on the School Board. Howell has sent telegrams within the last
two days to the amount (to my cost) of i6s. Hansom cabs being
impossible, he seems to have resorted to telegrams, which suit his
purse better, as / have to pay. ... I reopen this letter to say that
Howell has now sent two more telegrams, bringing it up to 2/. 14^.

Another character who excited much interest at the
time was Joaquin Miller, the American poet, who used
to arrive at the Fitzroy Square gatherings in a bright

,S74 JAMES SMETJ/.LM 289

red cow-boy shirt, with wideawake to match it, and
mud-bespattered riding-boots. His tales of wild
exploits with Walker the filibuster in Nicaragua were
-even more exciting than those of Howell, and con-
siderably more substantial, to use an expressive word.
James Smetham, the artist and letter-writer, a character
of quite a different order, also occupied a good deal of
attention at about this time. His letters l and mode of
living were alike eccentric, but excellent in their ways
—in some matters he almost resembled Blake. Retir-
ing, tranquil, intensely religious by nature, and some-
what mystic in the subjects of his pictures, he met
with all too little appreciation, but sometimes effected
a sufficient number of sales to maintain him for a
considerable period. ' One man's board and lodging
does not need a nation to know of his wants. Half a
dozen good friends will serve a man for life' — as he
puts it — ' and the good solid knocks at the plug by my
three friends, Rossetti, Brown, and Shields, turned the
frozen tap, and that was enough.' His pictures reflected
very much of his own spirit — poetic in the extreme,
with a sufficiently strong bias towards the religious.
From about this time (1874) and onwards it is
necessary to figure to oneself Madox Brown as an
artist constantly subject to harassing attacks of that
most distressing malady, the gout. As the present
writer has already had occasion to say — and he is not

1 Smetham's letters, which have also been lately published, are full of
excellences of matter and phrase.

U

29o LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1872-

alone, or unsupported in his opinion — this illness,
although to a certain extent hereditary, was largely
superinduced by the exposure to the elements to
which he subjected himself during the years in which
he painted his pictures of the Last of England, Work,
Stages of Cruelty, and the number of landscapes exe-
cuted in and around Hendon.

The year 1874 was interrupted by a series of these
attacks. During January and February they prevented
him from so much as holding a brush, though during
the latter half of the second month he contrived, by
working at times with his left hand, to finish the
Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Davis. The time spent in
bed was devoted to putting the finishing touches to
the lectures that he delivered at Birmingham and Man-
chester in March.^

In March was finished the great picture of Croiu-
well on his Farm.

I quote an excellent description of the picture
from the pen of Mr. Forbes Robertson, senior, which,
in all but the wording, was inspired by the artist
himself: —

On a white horse, which grazes leisurely by the roadside before
us, sits a stalwart man of saturnine visage, in the prime of lusty
manhood.

He is attired in the sober costume worn by thoughtful men in
the early part of Charles I.'s reign, is booted in buff, and his beaver
is slouched. His coat is dark brown, and his cloak is sage green in
colour. On his brow there is a palpable wart, and on the scant
white bands which adorn his neck is a red spot as of blood. Before
him burns a heap of weeds and stubble, which those two labourers

1874 *CROMU'ELL ON HIS FARM' 291

have grubbed from the hedges they have been trimming, and it is the
flames thereof that have arrested the attention of their master, and on
which he now gazes so earnestly yet so absently.

In vain may the buxom wench, sent by her mistress, who stands
with her two children by the garden terrace in front of the goodly
manor-house yonder to the right, raise her voice above the lowing of
cattle, the grunting of pigs, and the quacking duck which she holds
in her lusty grasp, to tell the master that dinner waits.

He hears, and heeds her no more than the little lamb does that
nibbles contentedly the herbage by the horse's nose, or than the pig
that fancies something good is going on in her neighbourhood, and
comes scampering up, with her squeaking litter, among the very
horse's feet.

By the consenting fall of the lines of the mouth and the weird
speculation in those eyes, he of the white horse sits evidently spell-
bound ; and that which fixes him is no fairy dance, no pleasing
phantasy, but the soul-sobering vision of the prophet or seer.

\Ve have seen where we are in time : but where are we in place,
and who is he ?

The level landscape, then, which lies so sunny before us, with its
dog-roses, chamomile, and marsh-mallow, with its pollard willows
throwing their stumpy shadows on the luxuriant pasturage, with its
flat, Dutch-like horizon, is the Fen country of Old England.

We are in Huntingdonshire, and yonder in the distance rises the
famous tower of its capital. That is the Black Ouse beyond the
meadows, which, with winding equivocation, loiters lazily towards the
Wash.

Could we turn our heads away from the dreamer of day-dreams
and look a few hundred yards to the right, we should see the town of
St. Ives.

As it is, we are standing on the lands of the Manor of Sleep Hall ;
all these, to the river side, are its meadows, used, as we see, for
grazing purposes, and yonder lady, with her two children, is its
mistress. She is the daughter of Sir James Bourchier, and was
married at St. Giles's Church, Cripplegate, some nine or ten years
ago. Her husband is the melancholy man before us on the white
horse, and his name is Oliver Cromwell.

U 2

292 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1872-

He has not been long back from Parliament, and it will be ten or
eleven years before he sits there again. In the meanwhile his notions
about kingcraft have been sadly shaken, and he has made up his
mind to devote himself to the interests of his family and of his grazing
farm, and, above all, of his soul. Accordingly, he associates only
with such earnest neighbours as Hampden and Pym, Lords Brook,
Say, and Montague.

' Living neither in any considerable height nor yet in obscurity, I
did endeavour,' said he afterwards in a famous speech in Parliament,
' to discharge the duty of an honest man.'

Oliver Cromwell, as we see him here, is supposed by the artist to
be returning from a neighbourly visit, and, on his homeward road, to
have opened his Bible at these passages :

' Lord, how long ? Wilt thou hide Thyself for ever ? '

1 And shall Thy wrath burn like fire ? '

Pondering on the texts, he comes all at once on the burning
stubble, and the concrete fact, so palpable to his outward eyes,
answers readily to the vision within, and the man lapses, in the
saddle where he sits, into a religious trance. . . .

In the middle months of the year a good deal of
time was devoted to the picture of Byron and Mary
Chaworth. The water-colour of the same picture was
begun in June.

These and two more portraits, the one of /. O.
Riches, Esq., for presentation by the Ocean Steam-
ship Company, and the other of Josepk Allot, Esq.,
for a building society, make up the tale of the year's
work as far as pictures are concerned. Otherwise,
Madox Brown was engaged upon two more lectures
for delivery at Manchester in December.

The events of the year were not many, but two
were sufficiently far-reaching in their results — the
marriage of Lucy Madox Brown to W. M. Rossetti,

i874

OLIVER MADOX BROl\\\

293

which took place on March 31, and the death, on
November 5, of Oliver Maclox Brown. With both
daughters married, the death of their son left the

OI.IYKK MADOX r>Ko\VN,' XOVKMHKR 6, 1874

Madox Browns quite alone in the world. The last
illness was cruelly protracted, commencing, apparently,
with peritonitis, and changing to that subtlest and most
insidious of diseases — blood-poisoning.

1 From the pastel in possession of Mrs. Hueffcr.

294 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BRO\\'.\ 1872-

On October 24, writing to Mrs. Hueffer, Madox
Brown says : —

Above all he hates any show of sentiment. Flowers put him in
a rage, and if you kiss him he says, * Don't do that again.'

He won't smoke any more again nor take tea, but he reads for
hours and does not speak, and one night dictated two chapters of a
new story ; Marshall thought it might hurt him to retain it in his
mind.

And later :—

To Mr. Shields.

October 30.

I steal a few minutes from my night watch to tell you how Nolly
is going on, and to speak to you about another matter.

We now have a regular hospital nurse. Nolly has been ill within
two days of seven weeks ; about the third week he seemed mending,
then he had like a relapse, which is a common feature of these fevers,
I am told ; then his illness assumed the form of blood-poisoning —
recently it is more like enteric or gastric fever.

He is no longer in pain, and to-day a slight improvement has
shown itself, which we trust may be the harbinger of ultimate con-
valescence, when he would be out of danger.

Of course I have lost three or four weeks' work, but that and
the expense is nothing at all in the scale. No end of people keep
calling and inquiring now that it is becoming known. But I can
scarce see any of them. I pass the night in his room, sleeping, but
not undressing till 6, when I wake the nurse and go to bed for two
or three hours. I hope that Nolly may be so improved as not to
stop my coming to the lectures and to see you both next month
(Nolly keeps talking in his sleep). ... I have done a little to my
Byron's Dream, and a little to a large portrait — but so little.

On November 4 there seemed some chance of a
recovery :—

MY DEAREST BROWN [writes Rossetti under that date], — I have
felt so much depression and wretchedness since seeing you, respect-

1 8 74 ' CUT IS THE BRANCH' 295

ing this dreadful calamity (never yet having been able to realise a
certainty of death in one so young), that even a glimpse of hope
held out by your letter.seems a treasure as yet. Thanks many times
for still thinking of me at such a time.

On the 5th came the end : —
To Mr. Rac.

November 8.

I have delayed too long answering yours of the 4th, though it be
but for a day or two, but I determined to write to you myself, and
have had neither time nor heart to do so ; and now I can scarce find
words to convey the dreadful intelligence in : this black-bordered
paper will tell you better than I can that our poor dear Nolly is dead
on Thursday, at about 20 minutes to 7.

Nothing that I can say can add to the impression which I know
these words can make on you. The loss from every point of view is
heavy. . . . But, being no ordinary loss, we have decided to bear it
if we can in no ordinary way, and not to complain. The irony of
fate does not display itself in this way for the first time.

Without a personal knowledge of Oliver Madox
Brown, without at least an intimate knowledge of his
personality as displayed in his works, it is difficult to
conceive, how great a blow his son's death was to
Madox Brown.

To the same.

What seemed likely to turn out the crowning reward of a life not
overstocked with successes otherwise is suddenly turned into a
mockery and illusion, and yet we are strangely calm, after our
wont, and indeed, my belief; it is of no use arguing with the
whirlwind. . . . There is nothing for it but to patch up what
remains of hope in other directions and get to work again ; but the
savour is gone, unless in the work for itself.

296 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1872-

During the remainder of his life the remembrance
of his son was never absent, influencing Madox Brown
in an infinite number of the small things that go to
make up a life. Just before his death Oliver had
expressed a dislike to the smell of tobacco that hung
about his father, and Madox Brown had said : ' Very
well, my dear, I will never smoke again until you get
up to smoke with me,' and the promise thus made was
kept. A room was set aside in each house in which
the Madox Browns lived subsequently, in which such
little things as his books, pens, and papers were stored
away ; and it remained ' Nolly's Room ' to the end.
Such little indications were indeed numberless.

With these latter years a feeling of sadness hung
over the house at Fitzroy Square. As an old ser-
vant put it : ' The place was never the same after
the young ladies married and Master Nolly died.
Hardly a soul used to come near the great old house.'

To a large extent this was the case. For some
time after his son's death Madox Brown had not the
heart to ' see anyone,' and when the time came that
such diversions might have been welcome, changes
had occurred ; old friends had died, had gone away
to a distance, were perhaps alienated by circum-
stances, few remained, and new friends no longer came.
Perhaps the attractions of Madox Brown's person and
entourage had largely vanished as the conviction that
his was ' a life not overstocked with successes ' forced
itself upon him.

1874 AUTUMN 297

Work itself was somewhat of a trouble to him, and
the financial outlook at this time seemed to grow
darker. It was as if, with the death of Nolly, the end
of a short bright period had come. Madox Brown's
life was like what our farmers call a bad year, ' with a
gleam at its tail.' To a stormy spring succeeded a
stormy summer, and a not too mellow autumn, Late
in its October came that transient gleam of bright
weather, called St. Luke's little summer ; and then
the clouds closed in again as the year rolled on to its
close.

O. M. />'.

As one who strives from some fast steamer's side
To note amid the backward-spinning foam
And keep in view some separate wreath therefrom,

That cheats him even the while he views it glide

(Merging in other foam-tracks stretching wide),
So strive we to keep clear that day our home
First saw you riven — a memory thence to roam,

A shattered blossom on the eternal tide !

O broken promises that showed so fair !
O morning sun of wit set in despair !

O brows made smooth as with the Muse's chrism !

O Oliver ! us too Death's cataclysm
Must soon o'ertake — but not in vain — not where

Some vestige of your thought outspans the abysm !

V. M. B.

298 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1875™

CHAPTER XIV

1875-1878

Work during 1875 — Byron and Mary Chaworth — Oil Cordelia's Portion,
suggested subjects, Rubenf Ride, &c. — Lectures at Edinburgh and
Newcastle — Madox Brown's popularity in Manchester — Town Hall
decorations — Visit to Holland — Dutch Picture Galleries and Scenery
— Rossetti's suggestion for a picture of Chaucer beating a Franciscan
Friar in Fleet Street — Work during 1876 — Supper at Emmaus —
Duplicate Christ and Peter — La Rose dc F Infante — Pastel Portraits —
Purchase of Chaucer for Sydney Gallery — Manchester Fresco
Project — Madox Brown and the New School of Artists and Critics —
Madox Brown's Research — Work during 1877 — 'fell's Son — Crom-
well, Protector of the Vaudois — Portrait of Himself— Descriptions —
Deschamps' Exhibition — Nervous hysteria — Gout — Roland Gilderoy
— Rosetti's illness— Madox Brown with Rossetti at Herne Bay — An
indignant landlady — Tourgeneff — The Chloral Question — Madox
Brown's schemes to make Rossetti renounce the drug — Rossetti's
view of the case — The Manchester Frescoes — Commission given to
Madox Brown by Mr. Shields — Work during 1878— Cartoons —
Duplicates, &c. — Gout.

JANUARY 1875 saw tne completion of the oil picture
of Byron and Mary Chaworth, a sufficiently im-
portant representative of Madox Brown's style at this
period. The design had formed the ' title-vignette '
for the Moxon's ' Byron.' The treatment of the
subject is simple. The circumstances of the poet's
attachment to the beautiful Mrs. Musters, then Mary
Chaworth, granddaughter of the man whom Byron's

.S;S 'BYAON'S DREAM' 299

great-uncle had killed in a duel, are sufficiently well
known.

Byron is represented in the picture as a somewhat
early matured youth of sixteen or seventeen years of
age. He has ridden over from Newsteacl to Annesley,
and in company with the dog Boatswain has taken a
stroll with the heiress of the latter place. The day is
a hot one, and the poet and his beloved have seated
themselves on a little knoll overlooking the great
plain in Nottinghamshire.1 Byron has hold of Mary
Chaworth's hand, and is pouring out impassioned
nothings, whilst Mary has only ears for the distant
sounds of the hoofs of that sturdy Nimrod Jack
Musters' horse, and eyes for that scarlet-coated gentle-
man himself. Boatswain, too, looks in the direction
whence the sounds come, just preparing to cock his
ears and perhaps utter the bark that will bring Byron
to a sense of the world around him, and, to a certain
extent, to his own senses.

He only fully realised the unprofitableness of his
passion when subsequently, standing in the hall at
Annesley, he heard the fair Mary refer to him, speak-
ing to her old nurse on an upper landing, as that
' lame schoolboy.' She seems, indeed, only to have
regarded him as an interesting and rather amusing
lad. On Byron, however, the attachment made a very
lasting impression, to which he referred not infre-

1 Madox Brown made a special journey to Newstead with the object
of studying the vicinity of the pictured event.

3oo LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1875-

quently to the day of his death, deeming that a
marriage with her might have made him a better
man.

The early part of the year was given up to lectur-
ing, and perforce to illness, hut, in May, an important
duplicate, that in oil of Cordelias Portion, was finished.
It had been begun eight years before. In June the
admonitions of the work-spirit began to grow stronger
and stronger, and with it the desire to strike out new
subjects. Two of these latter were actually com-
menced, the one, Surrey and the Fair Gcraldinc, being
brought as far as the cartoon stage in June. The
other, Rubens Ride, like it, never destined to see
completion, was actually commenced in Antwerp,
whither Madox Brown went with the intention of
painting the background. This background, a stretch
of river with, on the further side, red roofs and
brown-sailed barges, still exists, or did until very lately,
on a small wood panel inside the artist's favourite little
Fortuny colour-box, and the design of a bevy of riders
on spirited horses is still extant in the early stages of
a cartoon. This is as far as the work ever pro-
ceeded.

The subject was, until the day of his death, a
cherished one with the artist ; it is, however, rather a
difficult one to appreciate, and even in the hands of so
thoughtful a designer could hardly have proved much
more than a work of spectacular display.

October and November were occupied principally

1878 WORK 301

with the two etched portraits of Oliver Madox Brown
that adorn the ' Dwale Bluth,' the posthumous and
unfinished novel of the young author, which, with other
literary remains, was published in the year following.
These etchings, although ultimately not eminently
successful as specimens of the method, occupied a
great deal of the artist's time, and had devoted to them
a very considerable amount of industry.

In December was finished the water-colour dupli-
cate of Cromwell on his Farm, the last work of the
twelvemonth.

The vicissitudes of the year's work are, as usual,
sufficiently indicated in the artist's letters to Mr. Shields,
Mr. Rae, and others. E.g. : —

To Mr. Rae.

February 6.

I did intend, and should very much wish to paint for you the
subject of Rubens' Ride, the same size as the Don Juan of Leyland —
that is, 7 feet by 5 feet, but though with such a subject I could
paint it smaller, it would be, it seems to me, a pity. On the larger
scale it ought to be Soo/., frame included, for it is a troublesome
work to carry through, and would require a journey to Antwerp.

However, it has been my intention, as soon as I can get rid of
certain matters that are still occupying my time in the evenings, to
execute cartoons of several very important subjects that I now wish
to paint — Rubens1 Ride being one of them.

In this case I think it would be better for you to wait a little, and
I will give you the pick of them when designed, for I wish you,
this time, to have something the very best I can do — both for sub-
ject and carrying out of it. I have indeed got some splendid subjects,
fit to make a collector's mouth water I may say, though I should not,
as the saying is.

302 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROlVy 1875-

There follows a panegyric of Turkish baths which
it is unnecessary to quote, and then :—

We had a very satisfactory trip to Edinburgh and Newcastle, where
I lectured, and I was very much satisfied with the Edinburgh
audience. They sat an hour and ten minutes ungrudgingly — a
thing that they protest they never do for anyone, however great, and
they afterwards gave me a vote of thanks — also quite an exceptional
proceeding.

The second evening (when they found I had not come to abuse
them) the Scotch painters gathered in great force on the platform of
the Philosophical Institution. At Newcastle and Manchester the
public was more stolid, but I was informed the lectures were con-
sidered successes, and there were handsome notices of them. I send
you a Manchester paper with an account of a lecture that was given
about me by a Manchester artist.1 I have not much art news except
about myself, for I scarce see anyone. I have sold the cartoon of
Cordelia's Portion to a Manchester man,2 so I look upon the ice as

fairly broken now, and the A dragons as vanquished. I don't

think there is much news about Gabriel Rossetti since you were last
there, but he is turning out plenty of work.

The ' premonitions of awakening ' in Manchester
are peculiarly interesting, approaching- as we do the
time when Madox Brown received the commission to
paint the frescoes in the Town Hall of that city.

To Mr. Shields it is due to state that this pleasing
fact arose almost entirely from his unceasing efforts on
behalf of his friend — a fact of which Madox Brown
was really well aware. The number of commissions
that came from Manchester men of business through
the channel of that artist, and the number of inspired

1 Mr. Shields (see p. 146). ' Mr. Rowley.

1878 M.lXCIfESTER 303

articles in this and that provincial paper, are really
astonishing.

To Mr. Shields.

September 14.

Swinburne writes me that he and Professor Jovvett have seen
more than one laudation of me in some Manchester papers recently.
To what pitch of electric commotion have you frictioned them that
these sparks are elicited ! . . . . I have been thrown back in all my
work, however, and quite taken up with trying to etch two portraits
of dear Nolly for his book which is in the press ; and, as it is quite l
a new process to me, and my eyes not so good as they once were, it
has been a great difficulty to me, and only one done as yet.

In November we hear the first whisper of sug-
gestions about the decorations of the Town Hall,
Manchester, Maclox Brown being asked to draw up a
list of the men best suited to do the necessary work.
It was on the whole a disagreeable task ; as Madox
Brown expressed it :—

I have by no means any wish to claim the authorship of the
opinions given about the decorations of the Town Hall. It could
only add to the number of my enemies. Those mentioned would
feel a sort of lofty contempt, such as artists are wont to when in
demand, while all the others would feel bitterly neglected.

It would at this juncture be somewhat invidious to
quote several of the opinions expressed in the docu-
ment, for which reason I refrain from quoting it at all.

Of miscellaneous letters some of Madox Brown's,
written from Holland, have; some interest as Rcisc-
hi Icier : —

1 This is a mistake on Madox Urown's part. He had acquired a rudi-
mentary knowledge of t'trhin^ under Wappers ; witness the etching in
the ' (ierm.3

3o4 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1875-

F. Madox Brown to Mrs. Hiieffer.

June 24.

We J have been in Antwerp, at the Hotel de 1'Europe, since yester-
day morning. ... I have already been at work on my Rubens
subject, examining the ground and a librarian at the Town Hall.

We have also examined the museum and the cathedral, and should
soon have exhausted Antwerp were it not for what I have to do.
To-morrow we go to Brussels, and shall spend the day there, for
I must have a Turkish bath. I have been with your mamma this
evening to discover the grave of my sister, who was buried here
thirty-five years ago, but we have not been successful yet. It is a
long time ago, but the stone ought to be there. There is another
cemetery in which it may be, however, as I cannot remember ;
everything is so changed. Antwerp is becoming an immense city,
and must be very wealthy.

A little later : —

To Dr. Hueffer.

July 7-

We are here at Graven Hagen, at the Hotel de Belle Vue,
well-named, as it has a beautiful view of a setting sun over the park,
which is the beginning of ' Den Bosk,' where the palace in the
woods, with the rare and lovely Japanese furniture, is.

We have seen this to-day, and Scheveningen and the picture
museum. But perhaps the finest pictures are in the streets and on
the water-highways.

What with trees and what with water, Holland is all beauty at
this time of year, and the passage from Dordrecht to Rotterdam is
one of the most pictorial views in the world, and one of the strangest,
beating Andrew Marvel's poem about it. But their picture gallery
is a sad affair. Their Italian pictures are second- and third-rate
ones, all re-painted, and their Dutch and Flemish ones not equal to
what we have in England of them.

The 'we' included Mr. and Mrs. W. M. Rossetti.

CHAL'CKR AND THE FRIAR 305

There are, of course, a fe\v exceptions among six or seven hundred
works. They have one admirable Antonio More, three very fine
Van Dykes, and a beautiful portrait of Paul Potter by Van der Heist,
one wonderful little picture by 1 )e Kuyper, and a landscape by Van
der Meer. As William said, being fine they were sure to turn out
to be by unknown men.

The School of .\natoiny we do not much care for, and the
celebrated Bull is an ugly bull-calf, utterly wanting in grandeur
or poetry.

Again from Antwerp :—

To Mrs. Hneffcr.

July 10.

The first aspect of Holland was indeed startling. We were
aground for an hour, by-the-by, on a sandbank in the Hollandesche
Deep, and a Dutch man-of-war (a turret-ship, built flat, and in shape
like a large turbot, to move among the shoals and shallows) steamed
up to pull us off They steamed very steadily along, with men
with long measuring-poles on either side, calling out the depth of
the water all the time. . . . Holland is a terrible place for charging,
and everybody pretends to speak every language, but they go away
and do the exact reverse of what you want them to.

Rossetti's letters during the year contain nothing of
entirely paramount importance. The following sug-
gestion for a picture is rather amusing :—

n. (f. Rossctti to F. Mado.v Hnn^u.

Undated, 1875.

I really think you ought to paint Chaucer beating a Franciscan
friar in Fleet Street. I find the subject recommended to Haydon
by C. Lamb.

'It seemeth that both these learned men (Chaucer and (lower)
were of the Inner Temple ; for not many years since Master Buckley
did see a record in the same house, where Geoffrey Chaucer was

X

3o6 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1875-

fined ten shillings for beating a Franciscan friar in Fleet Street'
(' Chaucer's Life,' by T. Spight, prefixed to the black-letter folio of
'Chaucer,' 1598).

1876, a year again cut up by serious illnesses, saw
the completion of a number of the small works that
go to fill up the interstices of the edifice of an artistic
career. Of its first nine weeks of illness about four
were devoted to the water-colour of the Supper at
Emmaus, which, begun in February, was finished
towards the end of April.

The subject is treated simply enough — the Christ,
seated at the centre of the table, offers the wine and
bread to the Disciples seated with Him. They, recog-
nising the sign, are struck with wonder and adopt
attitudes of adoration. Round windows behind each
of the figures' heads form a kind of halo, but through
them the sunlit landscape is to be seen.

May was devoted to the cartoon of Rubens Ride,
which was once again laid aside, never to be resumed.

June and July were largely occupied with negotia-
tions with the Manchester Committee of Decoration,
an innumerable host of letters and the like passing be-
tween the several correspondents. A certain amount
of work was also given to the picture of Chaucer at the
Court of Edward III., the gigantic canvas remaining
in the studio.

In August the cartoon of the ill-fated Phryne sub-
ject was aj^ain taken in hand, to be laid down in
favour of the duplicate of the Christ and Peter*

MRS. W. M. ROSSETTI AND DAUGHTER. 1876.
(From pastel in possession of Mr. W. CM. 'I^osscttt.)

1878 ' CHAUCER' AT SYDNEY 307

executed on the commission of Mr. Rowley, of Man-
chester. It was finished in October, when the small
portrait of Mrs. Stillman's daughter, called La Rose
dc r Infant el was painted in exchange for the picture
of the English Boy.

The subject of the picture, suggested by Victor
Hugo's poem in ' La Legende des Siecles,' deals with
the little daughter of Philip II., whose dropping rose-
leaves forecast the dismemberment of the Invincible
Armada, then setting sail. It is, however, a picture
rather of affinity to than of actual identification with
the subject.

Two works in a medium for which Madox Brown
at this time had a very considerable partiality—
pastels — occupied November and December in com-
pany with the water-colour duplicate of Cromwell on
his Farm. These were a portrait of Miss Blind in
three chalks, and a pastel portrait group of Mrs.
\V. M. Rossetti and her daughter Olive.

This year saw the purchase by the Sydney Fine
Arts Committee of the picture of Chaucer at the Court
of Edward III. It was the first picture of his to find
a permanent resting-place in a public gallery, and
Madox Brown was proportionately pleased.

The project for the frescoes in the Manchester
Town Hall meanwhile showed an astonishingly Protean
adaptibility of shape. At times there seemed to be a
prospect that a considerable portion of the work would
be relegated to Madox Brown and his ally, Mr.

3o8 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1875-

Shields ; at another, only small wall-spaces behind
pillars seemed likely to be reserved for them.

There was at one time a great danger that the entire
building would be handed over to the tender mercies
of a couple of Belgian fresco-painters, Messrs. Guffins
and Schwertz ; but a vigorous jingo movement in the
Town Council turned those gentlemen to the right
about. The principal objection to Madox Brown was
that he was too old, and alas ! too conscientious to be
available for the work. The Manchester burghers
were anxious to have the entire inner wall-space of
their gigantic edifice covered with frescoes in seven
months, and at a minimum of expenditure — a desire
that to a large extent precluded the employment of any
artist of Pre-Raphaelite leanings or antecedents. Thus
the matter dragged itself out to an inordinate length.
Referring to it, Madox Brown writes in April :—

To Mr. Shields.

I almost begin to feel as if I should get the job. I should feel
so on the alert as I have not felt for long ; but it will be eighteen
months' toiling like a nigger, and not much richer. But we must
not allow the chance to slip if we can help it, for it is a kind of work-
that, once got, we can boast about. To those who don't know the
niggardliness of the pay we can boast of its grandeur, and to those
who know how meanly it pays, we can declare that money is now
no object to us, but that we have grown rich enough to work for
our country's good and our own honour.

Later we must work upon our friends to work upon our task-
masters the common councilmen, to give us a little more — as dis-
interested public benefactors ! After this last I had better conclude,
as I might spoil it.

1878 THE NEW SCHOOL 309

The dragging-out of the business was certainly an
incentive to write bitterly — especially when the Man-
chester authorities ' took it into their heads to consult
Academicians.'

' I can assure you things are much worse than you
suppose,' Madox Brown writes in the closing days of
the year to a new correspondent, Mr. Rowley, 'and
not so much in Manchester as in London. For here
there is an entirely new school of men arisen, both
painters, critics, and R.A.s, who are far more deadly
and dangerous than the old opposition. For five-and-
twcnty years I have been rashly indifferent to the
Academy, Tom Taylor, and Ruskin ; but now this
new state of things will be " too many " for me, and
I shall go under.'

As Madox Brown began to discover, the new
school that was arising — men now arrives and
passes — had its own struggles to think of. The
battles that Madox Brown had fought against the
old school were matters of ancient history. The
fact is that very few Academicians or other artists
of that day knew much about Madox Brown. The
great majority of them, I am convinced, knew none
of his work, never having had any chance of seeing
it. Otherwise, a few slightly prominent men admired
his work ; but they, as a rule, considered him as a ' dog
that had had his day ; ' whereas Madox Brown began
to see that his day was never to come, and that the
only thing to be clone was to work on as steadily as

310 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1875-

his health and strength permitted him. His industry,
by which I would express his desire for the elucidation
and thorough carrying out of the smallest points of his
design, was really as great as ever. In the case of the
third version of Christ and Peter we see him return
again pertinaciously to the point that purchasers had
decided against him years before — the question of
the nudity of the figure of Christ :—

To Mr. Rowley.

May 29.

I have inquired [he writes], both of Cayley and Hueffer, as to the
* clothes ' matter. It would seem to be one of those disputed points
about which theologians would wrangle for ever, but which never
would have arisen but for a forced conception of the idea of modesty
more in accordance with modern European notions than antique
Asiatic.

Huefier observed very acutely that, whatever the text might
mean in Greek, their expressions could mean no exact equivalent
for Judaic garments.

Cayley showed me this morning that in Matt. v. 40, I^ULTLOV
(singular) means cloak ; i/urna (plural) is translated in Luke xv. 20
' clothes.' Therefore, when again used in John xiii. 4 it probably
means clothes also.

Now as, according to our notion, Jesus only wore two garments— a
coat and a cloak — the plural must intend both. . . . (Then follow quo-
tations from ' Liddell and Scott,' &c.) If you like it, we are perfectly
justified in using the context as we choose ; and it certainly is more
pregnant with meaning in the nude sense, as Mr. O'Connor decides.

I have been much bothered lately, as Mr. Shields will tell you,
with the Supper at Enunaus, which seems to have become the
subject of an even more severe contention than the Las/ Supper,
under discussion— a contention apparently between the buffers of
an engine and tenderness of several drunken railway navvies, so
smashed up did it reach its destination.

i878 'CROM^'ELI.. PROTECTOR OF THE VAUDOIS' 311

The latter part of January 1877 was devoted to
the painting of the little picture of Tell ' s Son, a por-
trait of the artist's grandson.

It represents a little boy holding the halves of an
apple that has been split by his fathers arrow, and
may be regarded as a pendant to the Rose de r Infante
of the preceding year.

In February two of Madox Brown's most impor-
tant pictures were commenced ; they occupied the
entire middle portion of the year, and were finished
together in October — the one being that of Cromwell,
Protector of the Vaudois, and the other the portrait
of himself.

Cromwell's virile personality exercised a strong
influence on Madox Brown's mind. Apart from the
two pictures of Cromwell that he actually painted, he
planned several others illustrative of the Lord Pro-
tector's career.

In the present picture we have him at the height
of his power, protecting not only the interests of the
commonalty at home, but dictating to foreign sove-
reigns in the interests of their subjects of the reformed
religion. From a scrap of paper in his hand, he
dictates to Milton the terms of the famous despatch of
May 26, 1658^ whilst the poet Latinises them in lan-
guage fit to lay before the French King — though, to
judge from Cromwell's face, one might have; thought
that good, broad English would have done well

1 The proclamation is to be seen in the Record Ol'fu c.

3i2 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROll'X 1875-

enough. Andrew Marvell, in turn, writes from the
dictation of the blind poet.

The contrast of the three figures is as remarkable
as may be. The Lord Protector, a man of almost
colossal proportions,1 has come in from reviewing his
troops in the park, and sits with his legs astride the
corner of the massive table. His face is full of violent
emotion as he turns towards Milton ; perhaps his
dogmatic spirit is buoyed up still more by the remem-
brance of the ironsided phalanxes he has just seen
defile before him.

Milton, his face full of the tranquillity that so
often ennobles the expression of the blind, is the exact
reverse of Cromwell. His features are delicately cut,
illumined with all the inward fire of genius; his clothing
and attitude are alike precise and calculated. His
legs are crossed in his favourite and characteristic
manner, and, whilst he ' mouths out his hollow o's and
a's ' for Marvell to set down on the parchment, he
motions with his hand — a delicate, poet's hand — to re-
strain the Protector's indignant flow of words. He is,
in fact, both the great poet and the merciless precisian.

In Marvell, on the other hand, we see the subtile
homme d'affaires, satirist and wit, who, as Milton him-
self said, ' is a scholar besides, and well read in Latin

1 Madox Brown was guided in this matter by the life-mask of Oliver
Cromwell, which is of the most singularly huge proportions. It is, how-
ever, to some extent certified as real by the historic wen, prominent
enough on its surface. The features are singularly rugged and uneven.

iS7s PORTRAIT OF HIMSELF 313

and Greek, and probably of good conversation also,
for he comes now lately out of the house of the Lord
Fairfax, who was general, where he was instructed to
give some instructions in the languages to the lady,
his daughter.'

Thus they sit and make history on that May day.
The red afternoon sun-light strikes here and there ; on
Milton's face and on the wall of the room of the house
in Petty France, where Milton dwelt. Behind Milton
is his organ with its keyboard shown ; round his head
the carving of the organ seems to form the poet's
crown of laurel. At the feet of the poet lie the roses
he has dropped ; at the feet of the Protector the
proclamation of a solemn fast on the occasion of the
massacre of the Waldenses. At his side, beneath his
weighty hand, is the map of the country that the Duke
of Savoy has so mercilessly harried, and that Crom-
well now takes under his protection.

On Cromwell's arm is a band of crape — emblem of
mourning for the slaughtered saints of the Vaudois
cantons. . . .

Of Madox Brown's portrait of himself, no ela-
borate description is necessary, though, as a por-
trait, it is a work of singular excellence. We see
the artist —a man of great handsomeness of a mas-
culine cast — Roman-nosed, broad of forehead, with
rather long, almond-shaped eyes ; the face rather
oval and broad at the cheeks. The profuse ^rcy hair,
carefully parted in the middle, and falling mane-like on

3i4 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1875-

each side, and the sweeping grey beard, beginning to
grow white, impart an almost patriarchal air to a face
otherwise vigorous enough. The dominant mien is a
rather defiant, suspicious one ; but the expression was
not habitual with him. In later years his face, unless
otherwise excited, was habitually benign — I had nearly
said sweet — in expression.

Of other work, a duplicate of the Croinwell was
begun in December, and in the same month was com-
missioned and begun the design of another picture
never destined to be completed — ' John Broivn rescning
Negro Slaves'

During the winter of 1876-77 Madox Brown once
again exhibited in London, at M. Deschamps' Winter
Exhibition of Oil Paintings by British Artists, where,
side by side with the works of the just-dead artists,
Walker and Pinwell, and of the 'newly-arrived' E. J.
Gregory, were hung Madox Brown's pictures DonJ^uln
and Ha'idee and Cromzvell on his Farm. The result
of the essay was very much what might have been
expected, as far as the critics went. The ' old guard '
recognised contemptuously the existence of a man
whom they had thought to have long since annihilated.
The new men as a whole were indifferent, and there
the matter ended. One or two friends wrote more or
less enthusiastic reclames which served very well the
purpose of insertion in the artist's scrap-book ; and
that may perhaps have influenced the minds of the
wavering Manchester Town Councillors.

iS7S A SIDELIGHT 315

As far as impressing the minds of the public went,
the effort was a failure.

Several of Maclox Brown's letters about art matters
at this juncture are not without interest of one kind or
another. Here we have the inception of the Crom-
i^cll picture : —

To Mr. Shields.

February 13.

Rowley is off again to-day. He is a dear little man, and wishes
me to paint him a Milton with a Cromwell doing something together.
Of course, I shall do it for him straight off, but it is rather a rude
shaking off of all my own favourite subjects just at present.

But it does not matter ; once on the subject I shall inspire
myself with the feeling of it, and I designed a subject in my head
ten minutes later.

Another letter of almost identical date throws a
certain li^ht on the subject of the picture of Cromwell
on Ins Farm, and has, besides, an interest of its own.
It is to a friend who has been complaining of a kind

of nervous hysteria : —

February 3.

I have suffered so much myself from imaginary nervousness, and
every friend I have has suffered so exactly in the same way, that I
cannot help thinking that I should lie in some way helpful to you as
a companion.

No man ever does any good in the world without passing through
the phase some time between the ages of thirty and forty. This is
what I have endeavoured to depict in the Cromwell on his .Farm,
which seems to be so little understood by ordinary mortals.

What I have myself suffered on this score I should ' not like to
confess, but the experience now of twenty-five years forces me to the
conclusion at last that it is imagination and nothing more — and, like
you, I have been to doctors.

1 See 1849-50, ct liriu.

316 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1875-

Rossetti has been worse than any of us, because he has had dis-
tinct hallucinations, but even with him I believe them to be the pro-
duct of chloral.

A few days later a further report of artistic progress
under difficulties is made :—

To Mr. Rowley.

February 24.

I have been laid up with gout — indeed, we are all laid up here, or
I ought to have written you again to thank you for the Wedding
Cards, the design for which is so beautiful that every one who sees
it seems to form a new estimation of Shield's powers as a historical
painter. . . .

I have been prevented from painting but not from reading and
otherwise studying, and the state of the ' Milton and Cromwell '
matter is now this : I find Milton was, at the date of any of the
Vaudois despatches, totally blind. There is a very fine one to the
King of France in May 1658, just a few months before the Pro-
tector's death. Carlyle translates it (for it was Latin) near the end
of his ' Letters and Speeches.'

This I propose to make Cromwell dictating, or giving directions
for to the blind Milton, who re-dictates it, in Latin, to Andrew
Marvell, his ^-secretary. It was Milton, indeed, who recommended
Marvell for this place.

So I think it must needs give additional interest to the scene, but
I have still to think a great deal about it before I begin.

In May a pamphlet by a pseudonymous Roland
Gilderoy excited Madox Brown's interest. Its tenor
was that of decrying the ' flimsy popular art of the
day,' and of upholding the ' more thoughtful ' artists,
prominent — though not unduly prominent — amongst
whom were Madox Brown, Rossetti, and Burne
Jones.

1878 ' ROLAND GILDEROY* 317

May 25.

We have been eagerly expecting the pamphlet of the year [Madox
Brown writes to the author]. Miss Blind was very poorly, but she
worked at it hard, and, I hope, got done with enough for your pur-
pose. The only thing she had not time for was what she wished to
say about myself, for, as that had got put off till the last, she had not
time to consult with you. She got me to jot down a few hurried
notes, but this was done just as the post went out.

The only part I seriously disagreed with you was about Brett's l
picture. I have seen it again since, however, and have considerably
conic round.

There is a very sweet picture by Inchbold that has been passed
over, and three or four others that would be worth describing, should
you go into a second edition. Knewstub in particular, who has a
beautiful head in water-colour.

I like your general views of what I have seen (I have not seen
the Grosvenor), and much of the writing was fine and to the point.
Indeed, the thing only wants persevering with to make it one of the
leading criticisms of the days we live in.

A few days later : —

The thing reads very well, and as a criticism, per se, I fancy it has
no rival. Nothing so comprehensive has been attempted, and no
one that writes these sort of things could compete with it, unless it
were W. M. Rossetti or Stephens. There are, however, some unfor-
tunate printer's errors which \V. M. Rossetti and Miss Blind have
picked out, and which, should it come to a second edition, ought to
be corrected. I believe that, on the whole, however, it will be
accepted as a true and impartial criticism, and that, if persevered in,
next year it will take a permanent hold of the public, and ultimately
effect a revolution.

A resolute and fearless critic who is unbiassed and unbound by
commercial considerations in the first instance, is what is required to
effect this.

1 The picture in question was that artist's Mount's Bay, to which
the writer accords unqualified praise.

3i8 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BRO\\'N 1875

What you said about myself I am much obliged to you for, and
it is just what I like, for it gives me the highest possible praise with-
out putting me into too much prominence.

There is one slip, and but one, in the critical part of it, and that
is in the pitch into E. M. Ward, which, I think, after looking at the
works, unmerited.

I wish I could work up some one to let me go on with Maclise's
unfilled spaces in the Peers' Corridor at Westminster. That would
be a work worth troubling about.

The passage which pleased Madox Brown, and
drew from him the naive declaration of liking for the
' highest possible praise,' although written cnrrcntc
calamo, and perhaps unduly besprinkled with the ad-
jectives of warm partisanship, is interesting, as being
the first to embody some such sentence as, * We feel
that a great force, too little known, is among us
quietly and modestly doing solid and lasting- work.'
The same idea is repeated in substance in almost
every subsequent notice of Madox Brown's work. It
scarcely needs an unduly enthusiastic commentator to
endorse it.

To turn from matters more or less strictly artistic.
Rossetti's health showed almost unmistakable signs of
breakdown during the first half of the year, and in
August a sudden crisis rendered an immediate change
of scene imperative. The office of companion fell, it
may be said, de jure, on Madox Brown, and at almost
a moment's notice, choice being made of Herne Bay,
they set off thither. Madox Brown's pre-eminently
practical faculties rendered him singularly useful in

1878 HERNE BAY 319

such a contingency. His own account of the matter
is convincing : —

To Dr. Hncffcr.

August 1 1.

For two or three days I have been intending writing to tell
you of my whereabouts, but I have had so much writing to do
respecting I). G. Rossetti, with whom I have come to this place,
that I have not found time. We are inland at about a mile and a
half from the sea. not far from the Reculvers and Thanet.

John Marshall has said D. G. Rossetti must be removed without
further delay if his life was to be saved, and poor I was selected to
do it. We came to Herne Bay on Friday, quite on the chance,
after having spent Thursday at Fitzroy Square.

Our first landlady proved a vixen, and we had to decamp, sacri-
ficing a week's rent. But there was no help for it, for the house was
small, and her tongue resounded all over it. She was indignant at
our having baths : she was indignant at our late dinners ; she was
indignant at our wish to shut in the sound of her children's voices.
She was most of all indignant at eggs being poached and macaroni
eaten. We found this pretty house, and left. D. G. is really better
since, and walks and talks of painting again.

His mother and sister are to come here and remain with the
nurse when I am gone.

It is very dull for me, so very little to talk about, so I bully
Gabriel, and that does him more good than medicine, so 1 trust he
will be well again in a few weeks.

The hanging of the time on their hands made the
whole sojourn rather a weary one for Madox Brown,
until the discovery was made that the poet-artist had
' read very little of Tourgeneff,' and a recourse to that
great novelist served to enliven the latter few days of
the stay.

On August 27 he writes to Mrs. Madox Brown :—

32o LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1875-

I got home here yesterday rather sooner than I intended, but I
found Gabriel more difficult to manage after his mother and sister
came, for naturally I could not speak to him so freely before them,
so thought it best to leave him with the nurse. Shields was to go to
him to-day. The worst of it is, the whole matter is so involved that
stronger wills than any of ours would fail to see a way out of it now.

Chloral was, of course, the chief raveller of the
skein of mischief. Given the subjection to the drug,
that it is now sufficiently well known that Rossetti had
habituated himself to, his own attitude towards it,
however lamentable, was not incomprehensible. It
is set forth at sufficient length in the letter that I am
about to quote.

Madox Brown's particular function — to a large
extent self-imposed—was that of forcing upon D. G.
Rossetti a gradual abstention from the drug. By
means of sheer force of will — bullying, as he himself
puts it — as well as by means of some such subterfuges
as conspiring with the suppliers of the drug to reduce
its potency, he to some extent succeeded in this. But,
once allowed comparative personal freedom, Rossetti
became almost ungovernable in the matter, and we
have some such frame of mincl engendered as is ex-
pressed in the following letter, written towards the
end of his stay at Herne Bay during a period of com-
parative return to health : —

D. G. Rossetti to Ford Madox Brown.

I did not know that the arrangement we made for your coming
here again had anything to do with the chloral question. I thought

1878 DISTRACTIONS 321

that your society would be as welcome and cheering towards the end
of my stay as at the beginning, while your superior practical energies
would be sure to prove most helpful to my mother and self in getting
ourselves together for departure.

Of course, I am well aware that every word in your last letter is
dictated by the warmest friendship. But when I consented to adopt
Marshall's experiment with respect to the chloral, I both said that I
had small confidence in its working to a conclusion, and that I was
fully resolved not to deprive myself of sleep altogether.

I was a free agent in consenting to try the plan, and must remain
free to adopt it only so far as it can be made at all available. At
present my dose is so vastly reduced that it would not have been
hurtful even at the outset.

I must say I cannot see what you could sanction by your pre-
sence, except the fact that we are old friends and like to see each
other. Surely you cannot be responsible for what I must do or leave
undone as I please.

The fact is, that any man in my case must either do as I do, or
cease from necessary occupation, which cannot be pursued in the
day when the night is stripped of its rest.

Beyond the fact that a temporary return to health
was effected, and that Rossetti ' looked ten years
younger' on his return to town, the upshot of the
whole matter was unsatisfactory, and to one so emi-
nently devoted — as was Madox Brown to Rossetti
—extremely and continuously disquieting.

Hardly less so, in its different way, was the sub-
ject of the Manchester frescoes, which, however,
before the end of the year, was very nearly a settled
question. I quote a passage- from a letter to Mr.
Shields :—

February 20.

There is really no news as to the other matter, and we had better
try to forget all about it till there />, for otherwise we shall grow to

322 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1875-

take no interest in ordinary work and forget our few friends, if we
have any, in the vain pursuit of this ignis fatuus, that is like a lawsuit
or a patent invention that will not act.

In a letter of December 19 we have a specimen
sufficiently characteristic of Madox Brown's diplomatic
manner to bear quotation : —

To Mr. Shields.

Waterhouse (the architect) has been here. His object was to
ascertain, before meeting the Committee of Decoration at Manchester,
if we were still up to the work of the Great Hall, as he reckoned on
settling that for us next week.

It seems Gosse, the poet, who is an old friend of his, had told
him that I did not care twopence about the job, and also that from
his last interviews with yourself he had derived a similar impression.

I let him understand that we had both of us plenty to do, and
that, had we cared so very much about the matter, we might both
have been dead before now.

On Christmas Eve the fact that the Committee
had decided to entrust the various rooms to Madox
Brown, Mr. Shields, and three distinguished artists of
Academic dignity, was communicated to Madox Brown
by Mr. Rowley : —

To Mr. Rowley.

Christmas Day.

Yours received this morning [Madox Brown answers], and does
indeed convey cheering news for the season. It almost seems too
good to be relied on, though I hardly see how Alderman Thompson
could have toldjvw of it unless it was quite certain.

Whatever differences of opinion there may exist as to the pecu-
liar merits of the three painters now added, there can be little doubt
about its being honourable to be associated with them in such an
undertaking ; and, for my part, I had just as soon have this as our
larger scheme with all its responsibilities, which might have turned

HOMER AND SHAKESPEARE. 1871-79.

(From the ti coigns for the "Worthies" series in Owen's College, Manchester.

MANCHESTER FRESCOES 323

out too onerous. My own object in proposing it was chiefly to
deprive the Committee of the excuse that no English painter would
undertake the work. As to price, they can pay me what they like.

If we do get the work we shall certainly owe it to you and Mr.
Mil tier. Your last move was Napoleonic in its rapid and daring
march to the very heart of the matter.

Apart from the cartoon for the Baptism of Ed-
ri'///, of which, in connection with Manchester affairs
generally, I shall speak in a subsequent chapter, the
most important work of this year was the series of
cartoons representing twelve eminent worthies of the
world. They were destined for the ' Museum for the
People ' at Old Trafford, and are now at Owens
College, Manchester. Although only single figures of
no extraordinary size, and with no particular elabora-
tion of accessories, they yet occupied a considerable
amount of time in the execution, and were not all
completed until the year following.

Of other works, a duplicate of Cromwellt Protector
of the Vaudois, and a very considerable repainting of
the Don Juan occupied the remainder of the months
up to July.

As I have said above, I propose to leave until a
later chapter any reference to the commission for the
Manchester frescoes. Matters in connection with
them occupied, however, a large portion of the year's
time. I shall content myself, therefore, with quoting
one or two letters of miscellaneous interest.

In February Madox Brown delivered, at the

Y 2

324 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1875-

Birmingham and Midland Institute, two lectures — the
one on the ' Idea in Art ' and the other on ' The Con-
nection between the Fine Arts,' thus completing the
series of four lectures on Art.

The amount of work which Madox Brown got
through during the first half of the year was thus very
considerable — too considerable for his state of health.
In February he writes to Mr. Leathart, complaining
of overwork: 'I hardly -ever go out now,' he says,
1 and work harder than ever.'

To Mrs. Madox Brown.

August 2.

I dined with Franz yesterday. It was rather puzzling to find
time for, but I enjoyed it much, not having been out, through
my foot, for ten days. But yesterday I got a large gout-slipper
and so managed it. Of course, I did get out to Mrs. Moulton's
last Sunday in a cab (and slipper). The funeral [it was that of
Miss Marston, who had died with distressing suddenness at Fitzroy
Square] is to take place to-day from here. Then my troubles will
be somewhat diminished ; but it has got rid of all my tin except
a few shillings, and I must — well, we won't talk about that yet.
Franz played me the whole of a new French opera, Carmen, by
a Frenchman called Bizet, who unfortunately died after writing it.
Franz says it is the finest French music ever written, and I agree
with him.

I hear from Lucy that her baby is better now, and has three of
his eye-teeth through.

Almost immediately after the writing of the above
letter a really terrible fit of gout suddenly attacked the
artist, caused the total abandonment of work, and
necessitated an instant change of scene, Matlock being
the sanatorium selected. Thence we have a string of

1878 MATLOCK 325

letters such as the following, written with a pitiably
cramped hand : —

To IV. J\L Rossetti.

August 27.

I have intended writing you a line for some time past to tell you
how we are, but I have been so poorly that I could not brace
myself to the effort. Ever since the morning after we arrived here,
indeed, I have been in bed with the gout— with very short exceptions,
as at this moment, to have the bed made. The worst to put up
with is the want of sleep. . . .

I had a letter from Gabriel, curiously enough, telling me he had
just had a letter from a man who used to be his landlord here in
Matlock twenty years ago, and of whose kindness I remember he
frequently used to speak. How the man found him out I don't
know, but he wrote, it seems, to Gabriel in a state of absolute desti-
tution from Manchester — the old story, you see — to ask for aid.
Gabriel thinks he has found employment for him with Leyland. I
cannot write more. I must go to bed.

I dwell a little upon these details of malady. They
played so important a part in Madox Brown's life that
they rendered his work heroic. Entirely so one may
consider his setting out upon so considerable a task
as the frescoes at Manchester, since the remuneration
for the work was altogether inadequate.

326 UI'E OF FORD MADOX BRO\l.\ 1879

CHAPTER XV

1879-1881

Work during 1879 : Cartoon and fresco of Baptism of Edwin—
Description of the picture — Smaller work : The cartoon of the
Romans — The Manchester scheme as a whole— Its scope, £c.—
Criticisms and replies— Madox Brown's life at Manchester — Hard
work — Letters, £c. — Madox Brown and Lord Derby— Return to
London — Reaction — Work during 1880 : The Romans design and
fresco, cartoon of Danes— Method of work at Manchester— Anecdote
of Mr. Hall Caine's — Plein air device — Results of work — Determina-
tion to settle in Manchester — A real 'conspiracy' — Gossip — Mr.
Shields' windows at Eaton Hall — Rossetti's letters : ' The White
Ship : ' Mr. Hall Caine — The Blake designs — A fractious pig —
Midnight adventure — \Vork during 1881 : Fresco of the Expulsion
of the Danes — Flemish Weavers, Crabtree, and Weights and Measures
cartoons— Studies, £c. — -Temporary return to London— Final settle-
ment in Manchester— Illness of D. G. Rossetti— His last letter.

FROM this point onwards the record of Madox Brown's
work, so far as it concerns itself with new pictures of
importance, becomes almost entirely that of the pro-
gress made with the twelve frescoes * for the decora-
tion of the Great Hall in the Town Hall, Manchester.
This is more especially the case during the first three
or four of the twelve years during which the artist
was employed upon them. Of these, the first in point

1 I allow myself the use of the word fresco in speaking of the series.
I'roprrly speaking, the last four were toiles marouflees, the early ones
being executed in a modified ' Gambier Parry' process.

.SS, 1TJIE JiAPTISM OF EDWIN' 327

of execution was the second in chronological and
' Panel ' order. It represented the Baptism of Edwin,
King of Northuinbna.

The cartoon of the subject, of the same size as the
panel itself (10 feet by 5 feet), which had been com-
menced in July 1878, was finished in March of the
year under consideration. Meanwhile, in January,
Mad ox Brown had made, or rather begun and not
quite finished, the small coloured sketch of the subject,
and at different times, from January to April, various
studies of heads, &c., of which it is only necessary to
specify the heads of Edwin's Queen and of one of her
waiting-women. Thus, by the month of April, the
design was in a fit state for transference to the wall.
The outline was traced in four days, the painting
occupying nearly four months — from April until the
end of July.

Madox Brown's own exposition of the picture is
historical rather than descriptive. It is as follows : —

Edwin was King of Northumbria and Deira, and was baptized at
York, his capital, in the year of our Lord 627, and the next day
11,000 of his principal subjects were baptized together in the river
Swale, and his dominions became Christian. Manchester formed
part of the kingdom of De'ira, and was, therefore, under the rule of
Edwin. Our authority for this subject is the Venerable Bede, a
monk of Jarrow-upon-Tyne, who wrote his Ecclesiastical History of
England about 100 years after this event. Edwin, who in his youth
had been a fugitive, and ' tutored in the school of sorrow,' having
regained his inheritance of Northumbria, and successfully annexed
the surrounding country, sought in marriage the hand of Ethelburga,
daughter of Ethelbert, the Christian King of Kent. Bertha, the
Queen of Ethelbert, and daughter of Clovis, the first Christian King

328 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1879-

of France, had stipulated that on marrying the King of Kent she
should be allowed her Church, and the free exercise of her religion,
and, this being conceded, after a while she effected the conversion
of her husband. Ethelburga, their daughter, before uniting herself
to Edwin, demanded the same concessions, and was rewarded with a
like result. She and her Bishop Paulinus, whose appearance Bede
minutely describes, persuaded the King to be converted about six
years after the marriage.

Wordsworth, in his sonnet entitled ' Paulinus,' thus beautifully
paraphrases the elder writer : —

But, to remote North umbria's Royal Hall,
Where thoughtful Edwin, tutored in the school
Of sorrow, still maintains a heathen rule,
Who comes with functions apostolical ?
Mark him, of shoulders curved, and stature tall,
Black hair, and vivid eye and meagre cheek,
His prominent feature like an eagle's beak ;
A man whose aspect doth at once appal
And strike with reverence. . . .

A small wooden church, Bede tells us, was hastily constructed
for the purpose ; this being pulled down afterwards, a stone church
was erected in its place, on the site of the present York Minster.

A Roman mosaic pavement is represented as having been used
as foundation for the wooden church — as well because at this early
date classical remains were frequently incorporated with pagan
buildings, as to indicate the connection of this panel with the subject
of that of No. i, which is to represent the Romans in Britain.
Bishops, at this date, had not yet adopted the mitre, the first
indications of which are only found in eleventh-century monuments.

Edwin was a wise and valiant king, who, but for his death at
the age of 48, in a battle with Cadwallader, King of Wales, might
at this early date have united all the kingdoms of the Heptarchy
under his dominion.

As far as conception of subject goes, this is one
of the simplest of Madox Brown's pictures, consider-
ing its scale and importance.

i XX i 1THE BAPTISM OF EDWIN' 329

Edwin, naked except for a. waist-cloth, kneels in a
stone baptismal font, whilst a priest pours the holy
water over him from a bottle. Paulinus, with his
right hand raised in the benedictional position, utters a
fervent prayer, or perhaps the words Baptizo te. The
Queen, who stands at a little distance, is also praying,
with one of her waiting- women upon her knees be-
side her. She has her little daughter by the hand,
and the child looks questioningly up at her mother,
wondering what they can be doing to her king-father.
The congregation kneels, half hidden behind the cloth
thrown over what is, perhaps, the Communion railing.
Their mental attitude is one compounded of mocking
wonder and superstitious dread. A laughing mother
holds up her naked baby that he may have a better
view of the outlandish ceremony, whilst an old man,
whose gouty limbs make kneeling a sad task, is most
occupied with the disposition of his crutch, even
though Baldur be come again. The Saxon warriors,
young and old, refuse to bow the knee to the new
White (iod. The little thurifers, after their manner,
are not over-reverent behind the Saint- Bishop's back
—one of them laughs mockingly at the other, who can
only keep his incense alight by blowing it. Through
the small windows, hewn with an axe in the wooden
boards forming the sides of the church, we catch a
glimpse of the sky and of some old Roman remains,
their graceful columns contrasting with the barbaric
attempts at pillars upholding the little new wooden

330 LIFE OF FORD MADOX EROH'X 1879-

structure. In its main attributes the design is founded
upon that of the Baptism of St. Oswald, from the
series in the church of that saint in Durham — a suf-
ficiently appropriate connection, inasmuch as Oswald
was a precursor of Edwin, and, like him, met his
death at the hands of Cadwallader. Except for some
retouchings of the stained-glass cartoons for Peter-
house, and a couple of pastel heads of his grandsons,
in August and September, the rest of the year's work
was expended upon the oil study for the next fresco,
in which the Romans are seen building Manchester.
This was commenced in September.

To turn for the moment to the subject of the
scheme as a whole. At the time arrived at, Madox
Brown had received the commission to paint six of
the twelve panels in the Great Hall, the other six
having been entrusted to Mr. Shields.

After a number of schemes. had been formulated
and proved abortive, the project took a definite shape.

The twelve frescoes were to be illustrative of the
history of the town of Manchester, a city that, speak-
ing loosely, has practically no history of any appre-
ciable antiquity. The importance of the town as a
manufacturing centre dates from no earlier than the
present century of machinery and steam, and any dis-
coverable events connected with it previously have
been almost entirely coincidental. These circumstances
rendered the scheme of decorations peculiarly felici-
tous as far as the choice of subjects was concerned.

FRESCO SUBJECTS 331

Instead of a set of provincial events commemorated
narrowly, and having little general interest, we have a
series of pictures shadowing forth the vicissitudes of a
typical town during the various phases of the country's
development. This was a task peculiarly fitted to the
powers of the painter of the Last of England, a picture
which is to all intents and purposes inspired by exactly
the same spirit — that of merging individual effort
entirely beneath the tide of national movements.

The set of subjects originally proposed by Madox
Brown was accepted, with one exception, in its
entirety by the Committee of Decoration. The one
exception, that of the ' Peterloo Massacre,' however
desirable it may have been as a concession to party
feelings, is one peculiarly to be regretted, and the
ultimate selection of the alternate subject, ' The Open-
ing of the Bridgewater Canal,' proved almost equally
lamentable in the sequel.

The original set of subjects I quote from a copy of
those submitted to the Committee at the request of
Town Councillor Rowley in November of the year
previous : —

1. Agricola builds a Roman fort as a camp, A.D. 60.

2. Edwin bapti/ed at Manchester (sic) A.D. 600.

3. The Danes take the town after an obstinate fight.

4. Edward III. induces Flemish weavers to settle in Manchester.

5. John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, defends Wickliffe before
the Consistory of St. Paul's.

6. Weights and Measures noted and legalised.

7. Chetham founds Collegiate schools for twenty boys.

332 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1879-

8. The Sun's parallax determined by an observation [Crabtree's]
of the passage of Venus across the sun.

9. The first blood in the Civil War shed at an attack on the
bridge at Manchester.

10. The Pretender reviews his adherents in a churchyard at
Manchester.

11. One of the first inventors of machines contemplating his
work destroyed by the mob.

12. The Peterloo meeting [which led to Reform, which led to
Free Trade, without which no steam-power could have availed] at
Manchester.

Although this programme underwent modification,
the broad outline of the scheme is sufficiently visible
and was adhered to. At the time of its formulation
it was severely criticised by antiquarians and such-like
incurrers of Carlylean hatred, and it remains open to
the same criticism. In that direction the spirit of
the work is, of course, to a large extent that of
' Past and Present,' and as such it must stand or
fall.

The tone of the objectors is aptly assumed by that
negational genius, W. B. Scott :—

But pray don't say yours is the first series of illustrations of local
history done in this country. Indeed, how can the baptism of a
king at York, the building of the Roman Wall? or Wickliffe at ll'cst-
minster, be illustrations of the history of Manchester?

I quote one of several of Madox Brown's rather
careless replies to such critics :—

1 This is of course inaccurate. The Romans are represented as
building their fort of Mancunium, or Manchester.

i88i T/IK TOWN HALL 333

To Mr. Shields.

Perhaps you have heard how Heyvvood has permitted a certain
little demon named — — to impugn all our ' subjects ' for the Town
Hall, on the ground that the incidents never took place.

Of course, if modern historic doubts are to be first satisfied, we
may wait long enough before we settle or find our subjects.

Wuterhouse has shown me a copy of the precious document.
By its own showing there is but one subject, that of the Danes, that
is doubtful. The other comments and objections are mere captious
opinions. It is true that the Crabtree-Horrox subject will have to
be modified, and, as far as / can find out, Edwin (as Axon also
states) was baptized at York and not at Manchester. But what of
that ? We must have the introduction of Christianity somehow, and
as there are neither portraits nor views of towns in the first century,
we can call it any name we like — Peada or Edwin, York, or any
other town. But altogether I fear this critical process may again
cause lengthy delay.

I have accepted to dine with the Manchester Architects' Society
November 14, and I am to lecture at Alderley Edge about the same
week, and Brockbank wants to get me to lecture at the Royal Insti-
tution at the same time. I am quite willing, but want you to ask
me to stay with yon, to protect me against other advances which
might prove fatal to my gouty tendencies.

When, in April, Madox Brown set out for Man-
chester, these troubles, at least, were definitely at. an
end, though several of the later subjects remained
unsanctioned by the Committee.

The time spent in that city was one of unremitting-
hard work, and, what is more, of reasonably good
health. A certain amount of privacy was obtainable —
for the Hall itself is a public room — by resorting to
the device of a movable wooden booth with a plat-

334 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1879-

form floor, in which the artist sat on a level with his
work.

A few days after arriving at Manchester he writes :

To Mr. Shields.

I date to you from this, to us, memorable place (the Town Hall).
How I have ever got here seems to me a puzzle and a dream. I
find it very comfortable ; the only thing about my box (for it's like a
box at the opera) being that it is far too comfortable, and, I fear,
not to be abandoned often enough to see the effect of one's work at
a distance.

At night, when I'm all alone, with an excellent gas stand, it is.
perfectly delightful, and by daylight I feel charmingly free from
household worries.

I have not yet begun work on the wall myself, because I am
delayed by want of more medium ; but I have given the first coating
to one space and rubbed down three others, all ready to coat when
the stuff arrives, and the man now is fit to be trusted to do the
others by himself.

The cartoon seems highly successful with all who have seen it,
and all the masters and servants at the Hall are as pleasant and

attentive as they can be, except Mr. , who is a Philister, and will

not let me have a room in the building.

I am getting on slowly, but satisfactorily, with the coloured
sketch, but have been in bed already (Sunday) with sudden gout.
I drove it off with colchicum, and was at work again Monday. Pray
say nothing about it at my house.

I am so glad to know that you have sold one of your large
cartoons here. The Rowleys are off to Rydal, I remaining at their
house, where I am lodged for the present. Remember me to ]). (1.
Rossetti when you see him, and tell him I would he could see me in
my box at the opera, and how I have arranged it with bits of string
stuck on pegs.

The last passage alludes to an uncharacteristically
economical habit that Madox Brown indulged in to an
inordinate extent, and which excited D. G. Rossetti's

1 88 . THE -C.IYAL' PICTURE 335

animadversion. The smallest piece of string that came
under Madox Brown's hands around a parcel, or what
not, was sacred from the scissors or knife, and, after
having been carefully rolled up, was either placed in a
box, or, if of sufficient size, and there chanced to be a
nail vacant in the wall, was hung in that more exposed
position.

A few days later the subject of ' subjects ' crops up
again : —

To Mr. Shields.

April 30.

You will have received a communication from the Committee to
the effect that they have now definitively settled on the ' Opening of
the Bridge water Canal ' as the twelfth and last subject.

I don't know what caused their extreme tenacity on this head; as
far as I could see, it resulted from one of their numbers (who ruled
them by reason of a certain preponderancy of nose and chin) having
seen somewhere a picture by a local artist, Sheffield, representing a
' Canal at Amsterdam,' and having been much struck by this per-
formance, and, as it would appear, not having ever in his life before
examined any other picture, he wishes to see something like the work
by Sheffield on the walls of the Great Hall.

In confirmation of this theory is the fact that he once com-
missioned a local painter to paint some shooting grounds he owned
somewhere, but after paying for the same loyally, almost broke the
said local man's heart by steadily refusing to look at the work,
simply for the reason that he thought he had done enough in order-
ing and paying for the same. I perceived it was no use standing out,
and, seeing that it must be long before the canal scene need be
begun, I thought it best to let them have their way after protesting.
If it comes to the worst I will do it instead of you.

Thompson gave the strongest reason in favour of the subject, for
he said that a quarter of a share in the same canal had recently
fetched 8,ooo/. in the market at Liverpool. This was unanswerable.

The Gambler Parry process I still find all that I can approve of.

336 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROIVN 1879-

There are difficulties with the work itself, however, that one could
not count on — such as shadows cast at certain hours by the pro-
jecting piers on either side, and sunshine. These, of course,
I manage to counteract, but the result is that time is wasted and
the difficulty of obtaining the desired result increased. I have
almost finished four figures of monks or priests — those to one's left
— but I consider I am much behind. The heating apparatus is
perfect. The daylight on fine days is sufficient, but without the gas
on many days I could do nothing.

An incident mentioned in the following letter to
Mrs. Hueffer is a good instance of Madox Brown's
hastiness when he suspected that he was being
' patronised : ' —

May 30.

I am about to begin painting the head of the Queen, having
worked my way along the top of the picture towards her. Should
she be a success, the work will be made.

To-day Sir Joseph and the Mayor wanted to bring Lord Derby to
see the work. However, that was too much. I could not be shown
as one of the sights, so his lordship had to go through unenlightened
as to my noble self. One must draw the line somewhere.

The fact that it was just the time of Lord Derby's
withdrawal from the Lancashire Union of Conserva-
tive Associations, when that peer had gained even
adventitious prominence, rendered Madox Brown's
rather touchy action matter for a deal of comment.
It was most probably a merely fortuitous product of a
fit of anger rather than an altogether impolitic display
of dislike for a possessor of titles.

At the beginning of June progress is again
reported.

i88i ' GAMBIER PARRY' PROCESS 337

On the 26th of July was the ' private view ' of the
picture, and Madox Brown was released from his task.
The following letter to Mr. Shields had, however, been
written some days before :—

July 1 8.

Next, what I wish to say is that I intend, for the next subject—
The Romans — to execute a quarter-sized picture, oil or water, instead
of the cartoon.

I think it will offer greater opportunities for sale (for no one seems
to care to buy a cartoon), and at the same time it would be less
cumbersome and more fit for copying in many respects in which I
find the cartoon deficient.

I am not quite so satisfied as I was with the Gambier Parry
process. I find it keeps on drying and getting paler for three or four
weeks, which makes it difficult to know what one's work will look
like, so that I may possibly do the next on water-glass and have the
wall roughened up. Things are looking awfully down with me, but
I must conclude.

The hard work at Manchester brought on a re-
action on Madox Brown's constitution :—

To Mr. Rowley.

September 17.

What has come over me I don't know, I seem to have exhausted
what little energy pertains to me while at Manchester, and here can
only yawn and lie on the sofa.

I cannot even summon energy to write and ask old friends like
Theodore Watts to come and see me.

Nevertheless, I have finished my small replica of Edwin and
settled my design of the Romans. This I shall begin painting ' in a
clay or two, but yet am terribly laxy and depressed.

1 I take it that ' painting ' is a generalising misuse of words — the
cartoon was announced to the Committee as finished on November 20.
A comparatively small amount of colour, sufficient to give a general idea
of the scheme, was then added, and the picture — it is on a panel — laid by
until 1890.

Z

338 LIFE OF FORD MADOX JiROW'X 1879-

Before I forget, may I beg that you or Milner will ascertain for
me the colour or colours it was likely that the stone quarried by the
Romans would have been ? Whether brown sandstone, such as seen
at Liverpool, or the ugly grey of the stone of the Town Hall.

This is of some importance to me in colouring the design.

The design of the Romans was finished at the end
of November, but during the remaining months of the
year the gout played havoc with Madox Brown's work,
and not until the end of March was he able to set
out for Manchester.

The fresco of the Romans was commenced on
April 10 and finished on September 20.

It is thus described by Madox Brown :—

This subject embodies the foundation of Manchester ; for, al-
though the British name * Mancenion ' seems to indicate this locality
as a centre for population, it is improbable that anything worthy the
name of a town existed before the Roman Mancunium.

Agricola was Governor of Britain at this date — A.D. 60 — and was,
as his son-in-law Tacitus informs us, a humane as well as an ener-
getic Governor. His rule was much connected with this part of
England, so that the general depicted may be considered as repre-
sentative of that Governor.

A centurion holds the parchment plan of the camp that is being
fortified, while his chief, who also has hold of it, gives his orders.
His standard-bearer, in this instance a ' Dragonifer,' holds up the
silken wind-inflated Dragon standard which the Romans at this
period had adopted from the ' Barbarians.'

The legionaries are doing the masons' work ; but the bearers of
stones and cement are Britons, impressed for the occasion.

The river Medlock bounds the camp on the south ; the back-
ground beyond it is formed of oak forests, red with the last leaves of
November, while in the extreme distance is visible the blue streak of
the distant Peak hills.

A chilling wind is depicted as agitating the garments of the con-

iSXi < THE ROMANS

339

querors, and making the work in hand more arduous to men of
southern nationality.

The general's wife, with her little boy, has stepped out of her
* cathedra,' or litter, to take the air on the half-finished ramparts.
She wears a fur cloak, hooded for the cold, and on her hands are
muffles. Her naturally black hair is represented as dyed yellow —
her eyebrows remaining black — to indicate the luxury of Roman
living, even in a camp. Her little son, who is attired in soldier's
uniform and ' caliga ' (boots), is mischievously aiming a kick at one
of his mother's Nubian slave chair-bearers.

The interior of the camp, with the Roman four-square tents made
of skins, is to be seen behind this group.

The cartoon of the Danes, the third of the series, had
been commenced in London in January, and was finished
at Manchester in the interval between the finishing of
the fresco of the Rowans and that of the Danes itself,
which was commenced on September 20, the earlier
one having been completed seven days previously.
During his stays at Manchester, Madox Brown
worked almost continuously ; at times sitting before
his picture for two, or even three, stretches of five
hours each in one clay. Not naturally a very quick
worker, he let his extreme conscientiousness cause
considerable delay. Painting on the walls of a hall
did of course preclude actual working in the open
air as far as the picture itself was concerned, but it
was at this time — and indeed until the very last years
of his life — his invariable practice to make open-
air studies of every object presenting the slightest
unfamiliarity. For a sufficiently amusing instance of
this kind I am indebted to Mr. Hall Caine.

340 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BRO\\ \ 1879-

In the picture of the Romans there is a large bugle
— similar to a cor de chasse — which Madox Brown was
particularly anxious to study in the open air. It was,
however, a matter of extreme difficulty to find a spot
in which buildings were not near enough to cast a
disturbing reflection along the curved lines of the
brass. At last, after several ineffectual essays, an
unenvironed position was found at the top of the Town
Hall bell-tower, a sufficiently dizzy height. Thither
up the tortuous winding steps the artist transported
himself and his painting materials, and found peace
of mind.

In order to secure the effect of 'light all round on
dull days,' it was his practice when painting in the
Hall to resort to a device of his own originating.
The model was placed beneath a sort of dais of oiled
paper, which diffused the light from whichever direc-
tion it was cast. A similar expedient, it may be re-
membered, was resorted to by Tintoretto, according to
Vasari. The Venetian artist worked from wax models
placed inside a little box resembling a puppet-show
made of transparent materials, outside which he
moved a candle up and down, whilst the rest of his
studio was in darkness.

Upon the whole, Madox Brown's work did not fail
to meet with a certain amount of appreciation, in spite
of what might be called ' a very strong opposition,
well supported by the local press.' Such a letter as
the following from Mr. Rowley could not but have

iSSi 1THE LAST OF LONDON

34i

been gratifying to Madox Brown, who would, perhaps,
not make every allowance for the warm friendship of
the writer : —

January 8.

You will be glad to hear that I have daily congratulations on the
immense success of your work. Only this morning a friend, who
never cared for your pictures, came up to me with voluntary enthu-
siasm, and declared it the finest thing he had ever seen. Soon Friday
last with a couple of our local artists.

I have a character here as being crazy over your work, so much
so that for months I have never spoken to a soul about it, and my
aim is to be quite silent. Now, your splendid achievement does what
my poor gabble never could.

It was in the hope of an access of popularity in
Manchester that Madox Brown determined to leave
London and settle in the Northern city. There is a
certain pathos about his attitude towards life at this
stage of his career : —

To Mr. Rowley.

January 29.

Things- look so gloomy that I have come to the determination to
get rid of this expensive house and take a small one at Marple or
Hayfield, and there, if possible, live within my means. Could you
let me know the price of season tickets, and if you can hear of some
pretty six or seven-roomed house not over 307. a year.

I have written to Heywood about a studio in the Town Hall,
and think this the time, now or never, to make a new start in life.

\Vith a painting-room in the Town Hall I might, perhaps, get in
with a fresh lot of clients, and things could not be worse than in
London, and will be certainly cheaper. I think it is time to begin
thinking of one's will and all that, having the gout almost continually,
and this weather making one ponder on Tophet and other pleasing
alternatives.

342 I.II'E OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1879-

A certain bravery is required to enact the tragedy
of the Last of England, when the hero is at the age
of sixty. It is, however, to be doubted whether the
prospect of starting life anew in a strange country
was much more to be feared than the solitary life
which the Madox Browns led in Fitzroy Square at
that date.

In March the move to Manchester began, Mr. and
Mrs. Madox Brown taking lodgings in that city
towards the end of the month. The removal of the
household gods was a more complicated matter, which
was not to be effected until the year following — the
Fitzroy Square house being held on a long lease, and
proving almost unlettable.

They remained at Manchester during the whole
year, though a short visit to Chapel-en-le-Frith, a village
in the heart of the Peak country in Derbyshire, from
which Madox Brown journeyed backwards and for-
wards to his work, relieved the monotony of the stay.
The William Rossettis and Miss Blind were also spend-
ing the summer there, and in company with them he
thoroughly explored the Dale country round about.
As Miss Blind says : ' There was no more delightful
companion in the open air than Madox Brown with
his childlike enjoyment of the simplest and most
familiar sights of Nature.'

A passage that is worthy of considering, inasmuch
as it gives soim> evidence of what Madox Brown would
have- called ' a conspiracy,' occurs in a letter of this

i88i -/ CO<\'X/'SA'.-1CY 343

year, and certainly seems to afford evidence that in-
triguing of a kind must have existed in some quarters.
As I have no wish to do more than elucidate that
point, I take the liberty of suppressing the names of
the less praiseworthy participants.

To Mrs. Hueffcr.

May 17.

This reminds me that Rowley told me there was some mention

of me in the some weeks ago, as if Blank were coming

round again. You must tell Frank (now that, being both on the
same staff, they occasionally meet) that my objection to Blank was
not that he abused my works evenly and consistently, but that he
praised them privately and spoke with enthusiasm to people whom,
like the ('owper-Temples, he knew to be my friends, and then went
in company with Dash, the great dealer, to try and dissuade such a
man as ('raven from buying my poor works — to ruin me, in fact.

Craven told me and Shields this, and said he laughed at
them both. Blank is, you know, in 1 )ash's pay. However, I have
had no quarrel ever with him. Fifteen years ago, when we last met,
we parted good friends, and, if ever I meet him in your .house, I
shall be quite friendly and civil to him.

In July, to make atonement for former faults as a
correspondent, Madox Brown writes Mr. Shields a
longish letter containing several passages of inte-
rest : —

At Eaton Hall I saw your windows made up, for the first time of
course. I was exceedingly pleased, and I may say surprised at them.
None of the subtleties of detail are thrown away, but, on the con-
trary, these works seem to show that stained glass is particularly
suited for showing up these qualities, the reverse of Gabriel's maxim,
' Anything will do for stained glass.'

These windows of yours are quite original in treatment, and if

344 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1879-

Heaton and Butler's rendering of your colour is not always quite
successful, at least you have got them to execute works that, for
drawing and expression, are unrivalled, and that look at the same time
thoroughly decorative in design. The brassy yellow of some of the
hair they ought to be bullied for, though.

People used to ask me when you meant to favour us with a visit
to Manchester. Of late, however, they have left off inquiring, and
Sir Coutts and his wonderful conclusion that the four remaining
rooms ought to be dedicated to the four English Great Poets (this
would include Swinburne) shows that the new ideas have already
superseded the one we tried to inculcate.

I care not ; enough and more is for me what I am about.

After a slight temporary estrangement, Madox
Brown resumed in March his correspondence with
Rossetti. ' I am very glad you have written,' the
latter writes, ' and never loved you better than I do
now, as I said to Watts before we went to bed last
night.' This was in answer to a letter of Madox
Brown's. Several of his letters to Manchester are of
considerable interest : —

D. G. Rossetti to F. Madox Brown.

March 21.

Lucy tells me that you have included in a lecture an interpreta-
tion of that design of the * Archers,' by Michael Angelo. I have
been thinking of it from various points of view, and should like to
know what you make of it. I have not Grimm by me, and forget
what he says (I suppose something) on the matter.

Lucy also told me that she had made a copy of my poem, the
' White Ship,' and sent it you. I want just to say, don't show it
about at all, though I dare say you would not. I have such experi-
ence of the matter and phraseology of MS. being caught up before

iS8i '/A'.-//; .LVANTIUM' 345

the original gets published, that I feel a little anxiety on this
point.

And again : —

August ii.

For some twenty years or more I was your principal correspondent,
and now that you have written to me, let me not omit a prompt reply,
though with no particular news.

I am glad you took to young Caine, whom I have never set eyes
on, though many times on his handwriting, which is a good fist. Our
correspondence began by his sending me an excellent lecture on my
poetry which he seems to have delivered several times in Liverpool —
to what manner of hearers let the stars reply. He then sent me other
papers (a most excellent one on the ' Supernatural in Poetry,' referring
to the Greeks, Goethe, and Shakespeare, and a pamphlet on 'Poli-
tics in Art,' which I thought brilliant though rather wrong-headed).
He certainly has something in him, and told me he had five hours
enchanting talk with you.

Your pedestrian powers must indeed have improved since I last
wotted of them. I congratulate you.

It is fine to hear of your prime working order, to which five hours
seems so poor a spell as not to be worth entering the building to
accomplish. Well, you will leave a. visible sign of yourself somewhere
in Great Britain, and, though the Manchesterians are too stingy to
pay properly, they will think they have paid too much to whitewash
it again — the best chance a work of art has of holding its place now
and. here.

Mr. Hall Caine makes, at this time, rather frequent
appearance in Madox Brown's correspondence, sitting
for him also, and not infrequently paying visits to the
Town Hall. Rossetti took a very considerable interest
in his career, as indeed did Madox Brown himself.
Thus we find Rossetti writing in November :—

Young Caine paid me two visits when in London, and I liked
him extremely. He seems modest, yet not likely to miss a chance

346 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1879-

that can be duly seized. He now seems to have sufficient chance of
London literary employment to induce him to entertain some thoughts
of settling there ; but I warned him how serious a step that would
be. Still, I should like to know he really had any prospect in such
directions, as he must be much too good for his present work.

Somewhat later :—

The same to the same.

Undated.

It was very kind of you in mid-work to write me so graphic a
letter about that historical pig. It amused me much, though the
pigmentary predicament must have been no joke either to you or to
the organist.

I hope you will thrive at Christmas either there or here, but, if
here, I may hope to see you if staying on at all. I often see Lucy,
who certainly inherits your faculty of good talking. A conversation
with her never flags, and William's calmness fits in most happily.

I hear sometimes from Caine, whose project for a sonnet book
interests me. A collection from the living only by one Waddington
has just appeared. It is poorly got up and not particularly well edited,
so I think Caine will have the pull. I think you should let him
print that Boccaccio sonnet and find another if you can.

The new Blake volumes are truly splendid. Shields has made
the most wonderful cover from a design of Blake's, and has written
a long paper on ' Young's Night Thoughts ' series, which reads as if
he had been writing all his life. He has also drawn a most interest-
ing plate of Blake and his wife from Blake's sketches, and a separate
one of Mrs. Blake from another sketch of Blake's. In fact, he has
half-made the book.

William has completed his catalogue in his usual faultless way.

I forgot to say that young Gilchrist has really made a most
beautiful view of Blake's cottage. This is reproduced in photo-
intaglio.

I quite sympathise with the admiration you express for Watts's
sonnets. He has now done another, which I think the finest of the
three. He will soon make a bardic throne for himself.

1 88 1 AD VENTURES 347

The ' incident of the pig ' was one of the
several happenings at the Town Hall that diversified
Madox Brown's stay in that building, and upon
which he delighted to expatiate in after years. In
the fresco of the Expulsion of the Danes, one of
the several objects depicted is the burning of a pig-
sty, from which the little pigs escaping get beneath
the feet of the routed marauders and upset them,
uttering the most piercing shrieks the while. One of
Madox Brown's porker models played him a nearly
similar trick, besides disturbing an organ-recital which
was going on in the hall round the painting-tent.

A somewhat more serious adventure befel the
artist late at night in the same place. Descending
from his high painting-chair, he slipped into the
trough, which was created between the platform of
his tent and the wall itself. Here he remained for
some little time, so firmly wedded as to be unable
to move. The custodian, looking through the glass
doors at the end of the hall and seeing no one
about, extinguished the lights, and when at last
Madox Brown managed to extricate himself the pro-
blem was in nowise solved. Having made his way
out of the Great Hall, there remained the task of
finding his own chambers in the absolute darkness of
some miles of echoing corridors with dangerous stair-
cases yawning on each hand at every few yards.
This was only accomplished after having made the
round of the building several times, during which

348 LIFE OF FORD MAD OX BROll'X 1879-

proceeding the constant chirping of the crickets in
the basement, perhaps a hundred feet below, was so
distinctly audible as to prove a very misleading feature
of the situation. At last, after resorting to the ex-
pedient of trying with his key every keyhole of the
floor on which he was, he managed to discover his own
room. The experience was, however, a sufficiently
perilous one, and was long afterwards remembered
and enlarged on.

The fresco of the Expulsion of the Danes from
Manchester was finished on March 2 of the year fol-
lowing.

The description of the picture in Madox Brown's
own words is as follows : —

Rushing down the narrow and winding street of a small wood-
built city, the Danes are seen making for an open gateway that dis-
closes the country outside, with a Saxon church on a hill.

The Norsemen or Vikings who organised the plundering expedi-
tions that at this time so much harassed Europe used to begin their
apprenticeship to rapine very early. Fifteen is said to have been
about the age when they would start off in quest of adventure, and
of that booty on which, a few years later, they would settle down
upon as respectable married men and heads of houses.

The Danes are here represented, therefore, as very young men,
mere beardless boys in fact, with one or two better seasoned elders
to assist them with their experience.

The wealth which they acquired they were wont to convert into
gold bracelets, which were worn on the right arm.

A rich and successful young chieftain, the wearer of many
bracelets, but now badly wounded, is being borne past on a hastily
constructed stretcher, his companions endeavouring to protect him
and themselves with their uplifted shields as they run the gauntlet of
the townsfolks' missiles. In front of these four men have fallen

1 88 1 M'ORK

349

confusedly, one over another, on the ground. The pavement con-
sists of the polygonal blocks that the Romans had formed their
road of which ran through Manchester.

From a house which faces this scene a young woman has thrown
a tile that strikes down the ' Raven ' standard-bearer. An aged
inmate from the same window throws a spear, the national Saxon
weapon, while two little boys gleefully empty a small tub of boiling
water on the fugitives.

The Danes, who in a group have reached the shelter of the
rampart gate, pause for one moment to hurl back threats of future
revenge on the inimical townspeople, whose chained-up dogs bark
fiercely at the runaways, while in the background the soldiers of
Edward the Elder are seen smiting the unfortunate loiterers in the
race for life. (About the year of our Lord 910.)

The rest of the year was devoted to designing the
cartoons for the next three frescoes.

That of Philippa visiting her Flemish Weavers at
Manchester was commenced in May and finished in
September, that of Crabtrcc -Batching the Transit of
Venus was commenced and finished in July, and that
of The Proclamation regarding Weights and Measures
was commenced on November 28 and finished on
December 22. Besides these, two studies in chalks,
the one of Crabtree's head and hands, for which sat
Mr. C. B. Cayley, the translator of Homer, and
brother of the great mathematician, and another
study for the same fresco, for which the artist's
grandson Oliver was pressed into service. The
only other wrorks that merit mention are chalk heads
of Mrs. Kendrick Pyne and Miss Mary Robinson,
and a pencil head of Mr. W. M. Rossetti.

350 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROU'X 1879-

On the completion of the fresco of the Danes
the Madox Browns returned to London, but only with
a view to their ultimate removal to Manchester, which
took place accordingly towards the latter part of the
year. The move must have been prompted by few
other than financial reasons.

' This place certainly does not improve by length
of acquaintance,' Madox Brown writes just before
setting out for London, ' and cotton does not become
livelier, at least in the market ; whatever its condition
may be on the townspeople's backs I can't say.'

The welcome home to Manchester, or rather to its
suburb Crumpsal, was a by no means inspiriting one.
Mrs. Madox Brown's letters tell of charming views
round the house, but views seen only through torrents
of rain, Madox Brown himself being ill in bed.

The only other matter that needs a moment's con-
sideration was a refusal on the part of the Corporation
to grant some increase of the sum paid for the -frescoes,
2507. apiece.

From Mr. Shields.

I saw Waterhouse this week, and seized the opportunity of
expressing my regret that the Town Council did not deal more
liberally with you. You know how cautious he is, and therefore,
when he spoke in warm sympathy with the ill-requited and mani-
festly inadequate meed you received for incessant labour which
is publicly pursued, you will understand that he is on your side,
although he may find it difficult to influence the Council.

He said there ought to be a subscription to recoup you, and,
.although I regard this as an illegitimate mode of recognising the

,SSi THE LAST LETTER 351

worth of your work, yet I should be glad to see it carried out rather
than know you remain a loser. It would be honourable in them to
contribute from their private purses if they object to vote the public
money for the purpose, and it could be no dishonour to you.

No such scheme was, however, even brought upon
the tapis.

A far greater trouble ensued before the year came
to an end. This was the state of health of D. G.
Rossetti, which, before the Madox Browns' removal
to Manchester, had shown unmistakable signs of
breakdown. I quote what is apparently the last
letter from him to Madox Brown. It is undated,
but was. probably written before the end of July : —

MY DI:\R l.uuwx, — I should be delighted if you and Emma
would dine with me, but we ought to fix an evening. Either
Wednesday, Saturday, or Sunday are open at present, if you will tell
me which.

I was very much pleased with Shields' report of the design for
your fourth picture it will be lovely. As for the Liverpool scheme,1
in my regard I fancy it may collapse.

Yours affectionately,

D. G. R.

I have written a ballad you will like on James I. of Scots.

1 It was that for the ultimately effected purchase by the Liverpool
Corporation of the picture of DantJs Dream.

352 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1882-

CHAPTER XVI

1882-1885

Work during 1882 : Flemish Weavers fresco— Commencement of Crabtrce
fresco — Death of D. G. Rossetti — Its effects on Madox Brown —
Efforts to help Dan Casey — French appreciation of Madox Brown
— Madox Brown's view of his position— Fire at Sydney Art Gallery
— Work during 1883 : Crablree fresco — Commission for remaining
six frescoes given to Madox Brown— Madox Brown 'on strike'—
Increase of payment — Royal Academy exhibition of Rossetti's works
— Design for Rossetti's gravestone — Work during 1884 : Weights and
Measures fresco — Application — Madox Brown on Picture-buyers —
Work during 1885 : Pastels— Bust of Rossetti— Purchase of Work
by Manchester Corporation.

THE fresco of Philippa visiting her Colony of Flemish
Weavers established at Manchester occupied more time
in the painting than had been the case with any of the
former works. This was as much owing to the com-
plication of the design as to any extraneous distrac-
tions. Begun in September 1881, it was finished on
May 27 of the year following.

This subject commemorates the foundation of Lancashire supre-
macy in textile manufactures.

Philippa of Hainault, Queen of Edward III., is said to have
advised the introduction of the Flemish weavers into England, and
tradition mentions yearly visits which it was her custom to pay them.
John of Gaunt, the seat of whose government as Earl Palatine of
Lancashire was at Lancaster Castle, was the son of Philippa. Flemish

1885 'THE FLEMISH WEAVERS

353

weavers are said to have been established in Manchester ; hence the
connection of the Queen with this subject.

The season chosen is spring, still the finest part of the year in
Lancashire, at which season Chaucer tells us the English people
delighted ' to gon on pilgrimages.'

The Queen and her attendant ladies have been in the woods
' maying,' according to the old English custom, and each has broken
a branch of flowering hawthorn, or may. They are habited in
'Lincoln green ' for the occasion. To the left, a Fleming, of some-
what careworn aspect, his Elemish beaver slung over his back, exhibits
to the Oueen a piece of cloth the same in colour as that she wears.
He is assisted to unroll it by his wife, their child, and a workman.
Behind him stands his aged father, ready with a roll of cloth of a
different shade. The Queen tries the texture and substance of what
is submitted to her with scrutinising finger.

On the same side of the composition a row of street children have
been tutored to kneel in presence of Royalty. One little girl, for-
getting her baby's crying, all the same ventures to make faces at the
Flemish girl with the wooden shoes to the right of the picture, while
a ragged little boy, comfortably seated on the steps of the market
cross, is admonished to go down with the other children.

To the right of the beholder an old weaver, by the name on his
cloth, ' Jan Van Brugge,' is seated beside his apprentice at looms
which are drawn out to the front of their small shop, under the
shutters, raised pent-house fashion.

They are weaving, or pretending to do so, but the master is
eagerly looking for the Queen, while the apprentice is as eagerly
looking at his master's daughter : she, trifling with a kitten, affects
to see no one. In the distance are three archers of the Queen's
guard, and two burghers of Manchester on their knees.

The Queen's palfrey is held by a foot-page, hot with keeping up
beside the horses.

The sun illumes all to the left of the spectator, the figures to the
right being in reflected light.

The fresco of Crab tree watching the Transit of
Venus was commenced shortly after the completion of

A A

354 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1882

its predecessor, which it equalled in point of difficulty
as far as the solution of problems connected with its
' lighting ' are concerned.

Apart from the adding of two to a set of illustra-
tions that the artist had undertaken to provide for Miss
Mathilde Blind's fairy-tale called ' Blue Ogven,' the
year was entirely given up to these two frescoes, and,
save for the death of D. G. Rossetti, which cast it into
deep gloom, it was as uneventful as a year could be.

The loss of Rossetti was a blow, the effects of
which it wrould be easy to under-estimate. If we
except the death of his son Oliver, it was the first
of a series of deaths that deeply impressed the later
years of Madox Brown's life. The fact that some
such epoch must arrive for every man who reaches
a fairly advanced age scarcely rendered the prospect a
less tragic one, and Madox Brown's proneness to feel
new impressions made each successive loss seem a
more and more predominant presage, not so much of
his own end, as of a time when he might stand alone
and unbefriended.

In no case, however — not even in that at present
under remark — did any such loss affect his powers of
working. If not ' as the breath of life,' or even as his
' daily bread ' to him, the work-habit was now almost
as indispensable as that of putting on his clothes.
He worked easily enough, scarcely feeling over-tired
after a day's painting lasting from ten in the morning
until eight o'clock at night. It was, indeed, only

1885 LOSSES 355

in deference to his doctor's orders that he limited his
hours to the latter time.

To Mr. Shields.

February 27.

I have no time for writing letters ; going backwards and forwards,
if it does not interfere with painting itself, does wofully with all else
besides. Fortunately, here there is nothing else to occupy one.

I am not getting on fast with the Weavers, but still it grows, and
there must, I think, be about two-thirds done by now.

The cartoon not having so much work in it, I do much of the
painting from Nature and models, and this, in some respects, is an
advantage.

Upon the death of Rossetti, Madox Brown writes
to Mr. Shields :—

April 10.

I don't know how you feel this sad event ; to me it is the greatest
blow I have received since the loss of our dear Nolly.

I cannot at all get over the idea that I am never to speak to him
again.

And yet, when he was alive it seemed as though nothing I could
hear as to his health could surprise me ; and still it was not apparently
his visible ailments which proved fatal. How could one imagine
such a breakdown ! When I last saw him, in bed, eating sandwiches,
and asking for cake and grapes not three hours after his dinner, I
thought his ailments imaginary, and so they might have been then,
so little did they foreshadow this disease.

A great man is gone, and the effects of it on art in this country
none can tell, but we may fear. Unsubstantially and affectation on
the one hand and Herkomerism on the other, make me fear it will
go hard with the British school when a few more are gone.

You, Jones, Poynter, and Leighton are tolerably young yet ; Hunt,
Millais, Watts, Paton and myself are in the sere and yellow, or wrink-
ling stage decidedly, and what is to follow I can't foresee.

You have seen so much of poor dear Gabriel lately, you must be

A A 2

356 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BRO\\'\ 1882-

terribly cut up. To me it seems like a dream ; I cannot make out
how things are to go on, in so many directions things must be
changed. I trust you are well. I keep the ' enemy ' at bay, but at
times only with difficulty.

Of the part which Madox Brown played in Ros-
setti's life it is unnecessary to say much more here.
It was, I think, generally believed, and very frequently
observed by members of Rossetti's family, that, to use
the words of his mother, ' Brown was the best friend
he ever had ;' and Rossetti, with his splendid, Quixotic-
ally generous nature, was without doubt a friend of
friends to Madox Brown.

It is matter for some regret that, amongst the
many documents left by Madox Brown, none has been
forthcoming in which he attempted anything approach-
ing a study of his friend.

Perhaps his most effectual summing up of the
poet-artist's character was the frequency with which he
figured in Madox Brown's later conversation. ' Rossetti
used to say this,' or, ' I think this, but Rossetti used to
say that,' were constantly occurring remarks, uttered
in a tone that was meant to convey the assurance of
Rossetti's correct judgment. Almost as frequently
Madox Brown would conclude some anecdote illustra-
tive of Rossetti's obstinate eccentricity by saying :
' But it is a shame to tell such stories about him ; he
was a splendid fellow and a glorious artist.'

Madox Brown was not forgetful of the claims of
the oldest of friendships. I have before me a letter

1885 OLD FRIENDSHIPS 357

of the same year, in which he makes an effort to
help his old fellow-student, Dan Casey. On account
of its interest of an extraneous kind, I make no scruple
of quoting it :—

To Mr. Stephens.

January 1 1.

I see by this morning's paper that there is a chance of Sir Charles
Dilke's returning to his negotiations with Gambetta. The latter, at
the request of Lady Ponsonby, with the greatest kindness and feeling,
provided a consulship for a worthy member of the Paris Commune 1
who was proscribed and starving over here. I wonder if, by an
appeal of extreme audacity, your friend Sir Charles Dilke could be
got to intercede with Gambetta on behalf of a French artist, a man of
genius and early fellow-student of mine, one M. Dan Casey, of no
particular shade in politics.

Casey must be tolerably known to the French Government, as it
has more than two or three times purchased works of his for pro-
vincial museums.

But you know how ill this pays, and he does not belong to the
popular Gerome set. Ingres and Flandrin some years back insisted
on his claims, saying to the Napoleon Ministry : ' Si vous demanded
de la grande peinture, en voila.' And they commissioned his large
picture of the Martyrdom of St. Jlippolytus for the museum of
Auxerre for a price that did not cover the costs of it. Theophile
Gautier and the Press generally applauded his work, but no
decoration, no permanent reward followed.

It is perhaps a wild dream to think, but might it not be possible
that Sir Charles, in the jubilation of a successful treaty, could slip in a
word with the Master of I1' ranee, and so save from ruin one whom I
still regard as a great painter, but one neglected and sinking gradually
to distress with his wife and children ?

It is perhaps hardly necessary to say that the
application was not crowned with success.

1 M. Andrieu.

358 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1882-

Madox Brown's work at about this time attracted
a certain amount of attention in France ; he was in-
deed claimed as a French painter. A biographical
notice, by Chesneau, the distinguished critic, appeared
in ' L'Art,' and gave Madox Brown some pleasure.
By his old friends in Paris he was affectionately
remembered.

E. Chesneau to Madox Brown.

The old dear Casey me disait dimanche qu'il vous avail ecrit
pour Noel et nous etions heureux de causer de vous.

Depuis ma derniere lettre je suis entre" en correspondance avec
M. P. G. Hamerton du ' Portfolio ' qui incidemment m'ecrit :

4 Tout dernierement j'ai eu le plaisir de lire vos articles dans
" L'Art " sur F. Madox Brown et j'ai vu a ma grande satisfaction que
vous avez tache' de lui rendre justice.'

J'ai lu aussi un interessant article dans le ' Magazine of Art ' sur
la collection de M. Trist de Brighton et vu avec la plus sympathique
curiosite votre Roi Rene !

A bientot, tres cher Madox Brown.

Maugre this slight outbreak of praise on the
Continent, Madox Brown with considerable justice did
not regard his position at home as an enviable one.

As to beginning or taking part in some action against the
powers that be [he writes to a friend who asked him to join in a final
assault on the Royal Academy], I am only too glad to be allowed
to go to bed each night with both ears on, at the rate I see English-
men going.

As to the spirit of the Press in these northern regions, I never
read anything but the articles on myself.

I only know (and that not at all intimately) two of the critics.
One of these, that of the ' Courier,' did not deign to notice my last
mural. The 'Guardian ' did so generously, but I never see Scott,
the editor. The third paper, the * Examiner,' although the property

iSS5 THE SYDNEY FIRE 359

of Mr. Alexander Ireland, an intimate friend of mine, has been
against me till this year, when they asked my friend Rowley to write
about me, owning that I had beaten them.

Of the Liverpool Press I know nothing.

I do not regret letting you know (but I had better have used the
word ' confidential '), for to my astonishment I hear here it is re-
ported that I lose a thousand a year by these works ! !

What a Cnusus or what a liar they must think me, though I am
one thousand pounds poorer !

However unwilling- to show fight, Madox Brown
did not fear hard work. In the winter of the year the
news of the destruction by fire of part of the Sydney
Art Gallery gave rise to the supposition in England
that the picture of Chaucer at the Court of Edward III.
had been destroyed.

Sir [he writes to the curator of the Gallery], after a week's con-
finement to bed, on opening letters and newspapers, I come upon —
you can imagine with what feelings — the enclosed notice in the
London ' I )aily News.'

\\hen I say 'you may imagine my feelings,' I say so under the
impression that it is remembered in Australia that the picture took
up the better part of five years of my youth, from twenty-five to thirty.
The immediate revulsion from the first shock of this news is the
natural, and perhaps inevitable resolution to paint the work over
again.

He goes on to add that it will probably take him
eight or ten years, but being provided for by his work
at Manchester he can afford to do the work as a labour
of love for less than the sum for which the original
had been purchased — 5OO/.

He was not, however, called upon to fulfil the
stipulations of his own offer, the picture having been

360 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1882-

hung in another building, and having thus escaped the
general holocaust.

During the winter 1882-3, Madox Brown was
prostrated by what was probably the most serious of
his many attacks of gout. It was indeed only with
the utmost difficulty that his life was saved, and it was
only after a visit to London that he was in April once
again able to emerge from ' my truncated form, being,
so to speak, without the use of my legs.'

No time was lost in the completion of the fresco
of Crabtree, which, save for the difficulties already
alluded to, was not a work of very great complication.

The subject is thus set forth : —

Master William Crabtree, of Broughton, drapier, having been
requested to assist the observations of his friend Jeremiah Horrox,
the curate of Hool, watched the Transit of Venus over the Sun,
November 24th, 1639 (Old Style), our 6th December. Horrox,
who was poor and alone, and who died before he was two-and-
twenty, might never have made his world-renowned observation
had not Crabtree assisted him by letter as to his books of tables,
which were obsolete and valueless. By the aid of the new and
corrected tables Horrox's calculations came right. The day for
the expected event being a Sunday, Horrox asked his friend to
watch for him also, lest his clerical duties should interfere with his
observing the phenomenon at the right moment.

The weather being cloudy, Crabtree watched through that cold
winter day from 9 A.M. to close upon 4 P.M , when suddenly a
gleam of sunlight revealed the small figure of the planet crossing the
sun's disc, on the paper diagram. Crabtree was so perturbed as not to
be able, during the few moments the phenomenon remained visible, to
take measurements scientifically, but he could corroborate Horrox's
observation. The young curate's papers describing the modus
opcnunfi were discovered in Germany early in this century. This

1 885 THE FRESCOES 36i

modus admitted of Crabtree's wife and children being present, and
the researches of archaeologists show us that the astronomer was
married some six years before the event depicted. Crabtree being
but an amateur, he is represented as employing for his laboratory a
sort of store-room over his shop, or counting-house ; a glimpse of
the latter is seen through the open trap-door, admitting some day-
light, though the scene is chiefly lighted from the sunshine on the
diagram.

The window-panes of the counting-house are coated with
December frost.

Mrs. Crabtree, who is depicted knitting, which was accounted a
lawful Sunday recreation in anti- Puritanical days, clutches her young
son by the arm, in anticipation of his possible interference with his
father's proceedings at such a supreme moment.

In the meantime Madox Brown had begun a
' Portrait of Madeline Scott,' the little daughter of the
editor of the ' Manchester Guardian,' who is repre-
sented as riding on a tricycle. It was not, however,
finished until August. In July the sixth fresco, the
Proclamation regarding Weights and Measures, was
commenced upon the wall, and occupied the remainder
of the year.

Some days were, however, devoted to touching up
and repairing defects in one or two of the pictures that
Rossetti had left behind him.

By the end of the year the fact that Mr. Shields
would not, under any consideration, complete or even
commence the six remaining frescoes in the Town
Hall was made known to the Corporation. That
body, after considering that not even the Court of
Chancery could grant them power to hold the re-
calcitrant artist in front of the wall-spaces until he

3r>2 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1882-

should have covered them with works of genius, cast
about for another painter to fill up the gaps, and
eventually decided to re-employ Maclox Brown.

At this conclusion they were finally forced to arrive
hy the encomiums which the late President of the Board
of Trade, Mr. Munclella, showered upon the frescoes
whilst they were being shown him by the then
Mayor.

' The Mayor, I am glad to say, was with us, and
was visibly impressed,' Mr. Scott writes to Madox
Brown, when describing the momentous event which
certainly weighed down the scales. Madox Brown
had proved almost as recalcitrant as Mr. Shields — had,
in fact, 'gone out on strike,' and, presenting his
accounts for the consideration of the Committee,
proved to them conclusively that he had spent, whilst
devoting his time almost exclusively to the work,
' T,yoo/. over and above what I have received from
the Corporation, rather more than double the i,64O/.
(at 5O/. per sq. yard) agreed on. Under these cir-
cumstances, seeing that I shall, on the completion of
the fresco of Weights and Measures, have honestly
fulfilled my bargain as to the first six paintings —
though a disastrously unfortunate one for me — I think
1 cannot be expected to work for less than ioo/. per
sq. yard, as otherwise I should only be running myself
in difficulties.'

The matter was ultimately compromised, the Com-
mittee paying the artist an extra ioo/. for each of the

1885 -I//?. SHIELDS 363

frescoes already executed, and raising the price paid
for the subsequent ones to a similar level — 375/.

To turn from such sordid considerations ; it remains
to be said that to the unique self-sacrifice of Mr.
Shields the fact that the frescoes remained to be
executed by Madox Brown is almost entirely due.
It was only with a view to subsequently resigning it
to Madox Brown that that artist originally accepted
the commission. ' I was confirmed in this view,'
Mr. Shields writes to me, l by the conviction that
the six noble works completed spoke with irresistible
eloquence in favour of the whole scheme being com-
mitted into the hands of the painter who had so
powerfully justified his right to execute them all.'

During the year was published Mr. Ingram's
biography of Oliver Madox Brown, in the production
of which Madox Brown himself had taken a very con-
siderable interest, and which, on its appearance, gave
him very great pleasure. On the other hand, the
exhibition of Rossetti's works during the winter of
i«S82 83 caused him the utmost disquietude.

The picture getting done and you or Lucy visiting us [he writes
to Mrs. Hueffer] are almost the only excitements we have to look
forward to in this dreary exile. And yet 1 am glad to be away from
London, and the horrible fiasco of the Royal Academy swooping
down on poor Gabriel's works as they have. It lends a new terror
to death. One satisfaction is that they will never be able to borrow
mine off these walls. '

1 It is consoling to consider that the Royal Academy refused to hang
even one of Madox lirowivs pictures at the Old Masters' Exhibition
immediately following his death.

364 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1882-

The emendation in the hanging, at least, of Ros-

setti's pictures, undertaken almost entirely because the
' Times ' recorded a protest against the practically scan-
dalous way in which the exhibition had been arranged,
caused Madox Brown very considerable satisfaction.

In December Madox Brown designed the headstone
for Rossetti's grave at Birchington. It took the form
of an Irish cross, with runic bas-reliefs symbolising
the life and work of the painter-poet. During the year
he also delivered a lecture on ' Art as the Replica
of the Universe' at Glasgow and Newcastle.

His visit to Glasgow seems to have afforded him a
great deal of pleasure. He expressed particular admi-
ration for the Cathedral, and for the works of the
Glasgow architects, Thompson and Cottier. The
latter had been one of his pupils at the Working Men's
College. ' I might,' Madox Brown is reported to
have said,1 ' have instructed, and doubtless did instruct,
Cottier in general principles, but Cottier as a colourist
has a range of performance beyond that of any artist.
Here line and colouring are suggestive of Paradise
itself. . . .'

During the month of August the Madox Browns
removed from the suburb of Crumpsall to the slightly
more convenient quarter known as Victoria Park, a
pleasant district just on the outskirts of the town.

From that place he writes on Christmas Eve
a letter which, as it contains his views on a variety

1 The quotation is from a ' Glasgow Evening Times.'

1 885 A CHRISTMAS LETTER 365

of topics, I quote before passing- to the following
year : —

To Mr. Shields.

December 24.

Armstrong's suggestion of lectures for South Kensington I have
well thought over, and it seems to me to offer a tempting support to
an idea I have had of lecturing in America.

There are possible drawbacks, however. I don't know if, even
after such a course of lectures, I should be acceptable in America.
I don't know if my frescoes are in a state, without much labour,
to negative and magic-lantern with any effect on a sheet ; and lastly,
I don't know if it would be at all pleasant to lecture about one's own
works.

Meanwhile, I have just written to Waterhouse to tell him, what
I am sure you will be glad to know, which is that the Decoration
Committee at the Town Hall have decided at length to advise that
the remaining six panels in the large room should be given me to
till. Not exactly at what I required for doing so, but at such price
as would pay all round 3757. for each picture of the twelve.

This is not very pleasing, but as nothing else seems to succeed I
think it best to acquiesce.

It is only five years more exile in this place, and after that
it will not, I suppose, much matter what happens.

Altogether the idea has made me melancholy, but I must endea-
vour to get some place in London to come to, for otherwise it would
be unendurable.

I am sitting up here writing all by myself, it being now 2 A.M.,
the ladies being in bed, and Charlotte and Maggie gone to hear
midnight mass at the Catholic Church.

I really think, as they have the latch-key, that I must to bed and
write a little more in the morning.

Christmas, Noon.

It is a damp, dark and dreary morning, as unlike seasonable
weather as can well be.

I have remained at home to please my wife— she is engaged I
don't know how. Miss Blind is writing an article to pay for her

•

366 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1882-

Christmas presents to children. I am going to try and begin a sketch
for a book of Edwin Waugh's, having promised one long ago.

During the early part of the year following the
exigencies of his pocket and the prospect of possible
sales caused Madox Brown to recur to his old device
of retouching and finishing up old pictures, a kind of
work to which the months of April and May were
devoted. The works treated in this way were the
pictures of the Traveller, an oil replica of that work
of sixteen years' standing, and the portrait of Mrs.
Madox Brown, called May Memories. Before that
time, however, the fresco of Weights and Measures
had been completed. It is perhaps the simplest of the
frescoes both as regards treatment and subject.

By June the cartoon of Wickliffe on his 7W#/had
been taken in hand.

In October Madox Brown executed on behalf of
the fund in aid of the widow and children of Casey a
very charming study of autumn foliage, called, after the
place in which it was painted, Platt Lane, and, whilst
in London during the ' Christmas holidays,' the first
design for the Rossetti memorial, which now stands on
Chelsea Embankment.

Besides these works two pastel portraits, the one
of his granddaughter Juliet Hueffer, and the other of
his granddaughter Mary Rossetti, executed severally
in February and December, call for passing mention.

However sad and dull Madox Brown may have
felt his life to be at this juncture, nothing served to

1 885 RESEARCH 367

lessen the industry that he brought to the study
either of his subjects or of. his works themselves. I
shall content myself with referring to two well-crystal-
lised instances selected from many available.

The following is a ' list of authorities,' referred to
and used before the fresco of Wickliffe was set
about : —

Milman's ' Latin Christianity ' and ' St. Paul's Cathedral ; '
Hook's ' Archbishops of Canterbury ; ' Lechler's ' Life of Wyclif ; '
Ynughan's 'Life of Wycliffe ;' Longman's 'Life of Edward III. ;'
Green's ' History of England.'

The subject is, however, chiefly elaborated from Foxe's
' Acts and Monuments of the Christian Martyrs/ which
contains a very vigorous description of the scene in
Old St. Paul's, which Foxe seems to have borrowed
from the older ' Monachus S. Albani.'

As a pendant to this form of research we have the
following picture : —

Mrs. ]\Iadox Brown to Mrs. Hueffcr.

October 2.

Your father is wonderfully well and hearty, and is still painting
away at his autumn tints \_Plutt Luni\ in the open air.

He has hired a cab in which he sits all through the day. The
man drives him there and leaves him, taking the horse away. He
brings him back again in the same way, so that your father is shel-
tered from rain and sun, and Charlotte takes him his lunch with hot
coffee every day.

The work was intended as a study for the fresco of
Che t ham s Life Dream, which was not begun until the

368 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1882-

year following. Upon the whole, the year was not
an unhappy one ; it had its lights and shadows,
but these were inevitable to a man of many projects
like Madox Brown :—

To Mr. Shields.

February 20.

When I begin on Wickliffe I mean to do it in oil for a change, so
as to avoid the difficulties of working from models on the walls, and
have the luxury of working in my nice studio with the sun and the
trees in front of it.

I begin to soften towards the Manchester Corporation and folk
generally, chiefly because I find all other peoples of the world worse
disposed than them.

Good-bye, old fellow. I hope you are well at work again. 1
know of four distinct cases of good fellows who are almost starving
for want of it, and I've a letter from - — , who is never over-
brilliant in that line, unread in my pocket. So I must not grumble.

Then the subject of sales crops up again :—
To the same.

September 12.

The most curious thing to notice in this Exhibition is how all
the works are for sale — some for large prices, like Herkomer's, some
for modest ones, as are Frittts!— but all, whether R.A.'s or others,
for safe, and prices, of course, pitilessly gibbeted in the catalogue
Alas the day ! I do not think that no one has any money, because I
know of many people who launch forth more than ever, but I think
it is the fashion for buying pictures that is dying out. It never was
a genuine taste, and now people are ashamed of being sold by
dealers, without having any taste to buy fine things for themselves. . . .

During the year the project of erecting a memo-
rial to Rossetti began to take shape, resulting in an
enormous body of correspondence, and in little more,
during the year under consideration.

i885 WORK 369

The headstone to the grave was, however, duly
erected in July of this year : —

W. M. Rossctti to Madox Brown,

July 26.

As I was standing before the monument yesterday, a nice-looking
girl of some eleven years, with a younger sister — members I should
suppose of one of the better shop-keeping families or the like at
Kirchington came up to the grave, and the elder sister, who had
evidently been there before, said to the younger, ' This was only set
tip yesterday. Isn't it lovely ? ' with engaging outspokenness.

For various reasons no fresco was completed in 1885,
though two, that of Wickliffc and the toile marouflee
of C he t hams Life Dream were begun.

The ' oil cartoon ' of the former was finished in
May, and the task of transferring it to the wall begun
on June 18. It is the most ' work full ' of all the
designs ; consequently, when the very end of August
arrived and threatened to bring cold weather in its
train, Madox Brown for the time abandoned the fresco
work in favour of the toile of Chetham s Life Dream.
Of this, the cartoon had been begun in March.

With the exception of one or two pastel portraits,
notably that of Mr. Charles Rowley, and of an experi-
ment in marble medium, which took the form of a
portrait of Helen Rossetti, these works for the wall
occupied the whole of the year, as far as painting is
concerned.

The alto-relievo of the Rossetti memorial, however,
made some progress, but the subscription list was very
slow in filling up.

B B

370 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1882-85

One very considerable cause for gratulation Madox
Brown found in the purchase by the Manchester Cor-
poration of his old-time masterpiece of Work, of which
he had entirely lost sight for many years, and which
now found a lasting home besides another Pre-
Raphaelite masterpiece, The Shadow of the Cross, in
the Manchester Art Gallery.

i886 371

CHAPTER XVII

1886-1887

Work during 1886 : diet ham's Life Dream, Wicklijfi on Trial— Rossetti
memorial : Letter from Madox Brown on the subject — Labour Bureau
Madox Brown and the unemployed Mad: >x Brown's attitude
towards the Royal Academy and kindred bodies — Work during 1887 :
The decorations for the dome of the Manchester Jubilee Exhibition,
&c. ; John Dalton — The Boddington Group and collection — Madox
Brown's relations with Manchester Society — -Return to London — •
St. Edmund's Terrace.

To compensate for the fact that the preceding year
had seen no new fresco upon the wall of the Great
Hall, the year 1886 was made memorable by the com-
pletion of two.

Of these, the first, the toile of Chetham s Life
Dream, was finished in the month of February.

It affords a pleasant instance of Madox Brown's
intimacy with phases of boy-life, for the display of
which the subject affords excellent scope.

Chetham s Life Dream.

C. A.I). 1640.

The Boys' School in Manchester which still bears the name of its
founder, Humphrey Chetham, was established in accordance with
the terms of his will in 1656.

The .school (combined with the library, also his gift) forms no
doubt a precursor in the seventeenth century of those schemes, edu-

j; i! 2

372 LIFE OF FORD MADOX ]1KO\VN 1886-

cational and philanthropic, which so prominently distinguish the
nineteenth. Like his fellow-townsman Crabtree, Chetham was a
drapicr or cloth merchant, but his wealth, great for those days, was
largely supplemented by financial transactions of a nature kindred to
banking or money-lending. True, however, to the ideal of his life,
his will — which occupies four sheets of parchment, and was during
his life frequently altered — is chiefly taken up with directions to his
trustees for the purchase of the college buildings annexed to the
present Cathedral, and for their conversion into a school and library.
During his life he boarded out and educated twenty-two poor boys ;
after his death the number was to be augmented to forty — a number
which is now double, owing to the increased value of the bequest.
In the painting Chetham is represented as studying his will in the
garden of the College, which in imagination he has peopled with his
' forty healthy boys ' and their pedagogue. The school-cook is im-
patiently awaiting the butcher. The scholars are engaged in drilling,
reading, leap-frog, wrestling, and a game called ' stools,' apparently
the forerunner of cricket.

A more remarkable instance of Madox Brown's
power of squeezing the very last drop of picturesque
juice from — or rather of infusing picturesque virus
into — the driest of testamentary or historic parchments
it would be difficult to find ; evolved from the mere
provision of the not unsuggestive words, ' twenty
healthy boys,' we find not only the boys themselves,
but their daily food, their games, their studies, and
even — foreshadowed, it is true — their chastisement.

The fresco of Wickliffe on his Trial is the
most ambitious and perhaps the most successful of
all the twelve. The subject is sufficiently alive to
inspire even the most Academic of artists. Madox
Brown, to use a cant term, has ' made it palpitate with
life.' The amount of subsidiary addition to the

i887 \VICKLIFFE ON TRIAL 373

dramatic centre displayed is almost as enormous as
that which is displayed in Work.

Madox Brown describes the picture thus, allowing
himself the luxury of a slight historic dissertation :—

John Wickliffe, to whom we owe the first translation of the Bible,
was born at Spresswell, in the extreme north of Yorkshire, about the
year 1324.

He has been styled ' The Morning Star of the Reformation,' and
well deserved the appellation, for recent researches in Germany show
that many of the Latin tracts published by John LIuss a century later
were in reality composed by Wickliffe ; and John Huss led the way to
Luther and Reformation almost another century later. But our
world-renowned Englishman was not only an innovator and thinker
of great originality, he was also one of the greatest scholars of his
age. Master of Balliol College, Oxford, from his thirty-seventh year?
and possessed, seemingly, of unlimited attainments for those times,
he was not a mere student, but withal a man of the world much
employed politically by Edward III. and his Parliaments, being dele-
gated as Royal Commissioner, first to the Pope at Avignon, and
again to the Peace Conferences at Bruges.

Gradually, as his ethical views of Christianity became confirmed,
he gave up the pluralities with which the Court had rewarded his
services, retired to his rectory at Lutterworth, abandoned soft living,
and, going barefoot himself, began organising that company of poor
itinerant preachers (somewhat on the model of the Barefoot Friars)
which soon was to spread itself over the length and breadth of
England.

The Court of Rome at last thought it time to intervene, and
caused Wickliffe to be cited before Convocation in Old St. Paul's,
London. On February 19, 1377, he there accordingly appeared ;
but his great patron John of Gaunt, Earl-Palatine of Lancaster — son
of the King, and practically Prime Minister at that time appeared
by Wickliffe'sside, with Lord Percy, the Earl-Marshal, and soldiers for
his protection. The trial, from six o'clock to nine of that winter
morn, was little else than an unseemly dispute between John of
(Jaunt, the sovereign of Lancashire, on the one hand, and Courtney,

374 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1886-

Bishop of London, on the other, till the citizens of London, fancying
they heard the Duke threatening their bishop ' to pull him out of
the church by the hair of his head,' began such a riot that the trial
had perforce to be postponed, and Wickliffe was suffered to resume
his duties at Lutterworth.

In the composition, near to Courtney on the dais, sits Simon
Sudbury, the Archbishop of Canterbury, depicted as endeavouring,
in whispers, to assuage the indignation of his colleague. At Wickliffe's
feet are seen the five mendicant friars appointed as his counsel,
Wickliffe not yet having publicly differed with them. The Earl-
Marshal is represented as ordering a stool for the Reformer, for, said
he, ' An you must answer from all these books, doctor, you will
need a soft seat,' causing the prelate still greater indignation ; but
Wickliffe remained standing. Constance, John of Gaunt's second
duchess, a Princess of Spain, is shown plucking her spouse back by
his mantle, as though in fear he might in his excitement do some
injury to the prelate. In the background Chaucer, the Duke's
other protege, is seen taking notes on his tablets.

John Wickliffe died peaceably in his rectory of Lutterworth seven
years later.

The picture contains in the head of the bishop an
admirable portrait of the artist himself. The head of
Wickliffe was studied from the features of Mr. Shields;
that of John of Gaunt from Madox Brown's pupil,
Mr. Harold Rathbone, of the Birkenhead Delia
Robbia Pottery.

In November the oil study and the toile itself of
I ) alt on catching Jack o Lanterns, as Madox Brown
quaintly styles it, were begun. The sanction of the
Corporation for the substitution of the subject for that
of Charles Edivard Reviewing his Troops had been
given in July. The wrork devoted to these subjects
was, however, interrupted during the same month by

1887 THE ROSSETTI MEMORIAL 375

the commission for the execution of a set of decora-
tions for the Manchester Jubilee Exhibition of the
year following. To these literally ' colossal ' works
I shall refer upon the date of their completion.

In February of the year 1886 the large model of
the alto-relief for the Rossetti memorial was finished.

The selection of Madox Brown to execute this
work was singularly appropriate in so far as personality
was concerned — a fact which has been made abun-
dantly manifest in this work's course. Madox Brown's
work was to a large extent a 'labour of love.' It was
commenced with small hope of subsequent carrying
out, and without the smallest hope of adequate com-
])( nsation.

Ultimately a 'resulting balance' of 49/. us. was
handed to him in 1887, and from a consideration of
Madox Brown's bank pass-book I find that his own
disbursements in connection with the memorial
amounted to within 8/. of that sum.

I have dwelt for a moment upon these figures
because at the time one of those pestiferous and
anonymous gentry who ' write to the papers ' made
allegations of a kind that could not but prove dis-
tressing to a man of Madox Brown's nature.

Upon the completion of the model, and after its
exhibition at South Kensington, it was cast in bronze
in Paris.

Two very engrossing preoccupations of the early
part of the year were those of engineering a raffle on

376 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1886-

behalf of the widow and children of poor Casey, who
had died in circumstances of almost tragic poverty,
and the starting of a ' labour bureau ' for the assistance
of the unemployed.

So far as I have been able to discover, this latter
was the product of Madox Brown's own brain, although
in putting it into practice he was aided by several
gentlemen of philanthropic and practical tastes : —

To Mr. Shields.

April 1 6.

I was at a mass meeting of the unemployed yesterday at Pomona
Gardens — 6,000 or 7,000 poor wretched-looking, ragged fellows. I
had to speechify them, for, did I tell you ? I and some others have
started a ' labour bureau,' to register all who want employment and
to invite those who want men to come to us. The workers have
come in numbers, but not 5 per cent, of those numbers as employers.

In fact, I believe the manufacturers look upon a good broad
margin of starving workmen as the necessary accompaniment of
cheap labour. I shall get a nice name, I expect.

The Madame Casey affair has come to a stop. About 327.
I expect to have in all for her, but most of it she has had already.

Thanks for the kind things you send about the alto-relief, but
I fancy you could but ill judge of it in that light at the museum
at Westminster. I am told that at South Kensington it is well-
placed.

During 1886 several assaults upon the Royal
Academy were made, but Madox Brown consistently
refused to give his name to strengthen any of them,
giving as his reason his conviction that with few excep-
tions the best artists of the country were at that time
members either of that or of kindred bodies. The
same reason, with the addition of that of dislike to

1887 DECORATIONS 377

almost inevitable cliquishness, he pleaded as an excuse
for not joining a new society which it was proposed
to start. He did, however, subsequently alter his
mind in favour of the Society of Arts and Crafts. As
a matter of fact, his old 'fighting spirit' had largely
abandoned him. A gradual conviction seemed to
force itself upon him that his present metier would be
amply fulfilled if he were allowed to finish his work
and die in peace, and for the rest — to go to bed each
night ' with both ears on.'

At the end of the year we find him writing to Mr.
Shields :-

December 29.

I have been so tremendously busy that I not only have no time
to think of writing myself, but have scarely time to read your cordial
letter and greeting. But I return it with equal heartiness and
goodwill, and may the coming year bring you all manner of joyful
surprises and pleasant work.

The reason why I am more than usually employed is that I have
undertaken some very large (colossal) figures for their Jubilee Exhibi-
tion here, and they must be ready by a certain day. I have got
Knewstub, D. G. Rossetti's old pupil, to assist me. One of the
characters is a sheep-shearer.

Do you think that in London anywhere there is to be got a cast
of a shorn sheep.

I had one in my studio shorn on purpose, but he was a Christmas
one, and so fat, that taking his wool off made very little difference to
him or to me.

It is the back and the shoulders that I want the anatomy of.

This work is not exactly like picking up gold and silver, but I
hope it may a little recoup what 1 have lost walling at the Town
Hall. Excuse brevity.

The work in point was that to which I have

378 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1886-

already referred. High up in the dome of the
entrance-hall of the Exhibition there were enormous
spaces, formed by sparidrils, and these it was decided
in November were to be filled up by canvases, upon
which Madox Brown was to depict Energy as sym-
bolised by figures of the various manufactures and
pursuits of the nation. This decision was only arrived
at in November, and as the extent of surface to be
filled was tremendous, and as no canvases were pro-
cured or procurable until the end of December, the
task of completing the work in time for the opening
day in May was no mean one. In April we find him

writing : —

To Miss Mathilde Blind.

You see I still retain my habits of early rising, for I can't sleep
well, I have such a fearful number of things to do. Thursday I
spent on a swing scaffolding, putting the last touches to my work, at a
height of 50 feet from the ground, hauled up by ten men with ropes.
I was determined to do it, and so, by consultation with the foreman
of the joiners, I managed it. I underwent nothing like real danger,
and could have had assistants to go up for me. But they could not
have done what I did. Fifty feet from the ground was a good height
to be swinging by a rope, and three men had fallen and been killed
just before.

On May 20, with hardly any interval for rest inter-
vening, the Dalton fresco was again taken in hand.
It was finished on December 21. In order, as it
stands upon the wall, it is the twelfth and last of the
series — a subject selected from comparatively modern
times, and one bringing the whole into touch with
modern methods of thought.

'JOHN D ALTON' 379

Madox Brown's comments on the work are as
follows : —

John Dalton,1 inventor of the Atomic Theory, was born at
Eaglesfield, near Cockermouth, in Cumberland, September 5, 1766.
As early as when only twelve he started a school in partnership with
a brother only a few years older. The stronger pupils, it is stated,
would challenge Dalton to fight on his offering to correct them.
For many years of his life he maintained himself in Manchester
by school-teaching, but his laborious, if honourable, occupation did
not hinder him from indulging in the most abstruse and far-reaching
speculations and researches ; the result being that this Manchester
schoolmaster, alone and unassisted, made himself the father of
modern chemistry— that is, if chemistry is one of the exact sciences,
and not a succession of independent experiments. How the idea
of the Atomic Theory first presented itself to his mind it would be
interesting to know ; but we know little of it. All we hear is that
it occurred to him as required in order to explain certain remarkable
phases of matter which combine in some proportions and not in
others. Once that the idea had taken hold of his mind, he never
abandoned it till he had worked it out. The natural gases presented
the readiest mode of investigation ; so he is represented as collecting
marsh-fire gas, one of the natural and primitive forms of gas. The
mode of getting it is the usual one of stirring-up the mud of a
stagnant pond, while an assistant (in this case a farmer's boy) catches
the bubbles as they rise in a wide-mouthed bottle, having a saucer
ready to close up the mouth under the water when the bottle is full.
A group of children are watching him, and the eldest, who has
charge of them, is telling the little boy, who is bent on catching
sticklebacks, that ' Mr. Dalton is catching Jack o' Lanterns'— marsh-
fire gas being, when on fire, the substance the ' Will o' the Wisp ' is
composed of.

Dalton's great invention met with slow recognition at first, as is
usual in conservative England ; but the French Institute having made
him one of their eight foreign members, and treated him with the

1 The head of Dalton was painted from a little portrait bust in the
possession of Mr. Joule, of Sale.

380 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1886-

highest distinction while in Paris, the English Royal Society gave in I
at length, and elected him without his consent, and he was pensioned
by the Government of William IV. He died in July 1844.

Upon the completion of the Dalton fresco Madox
Brown began a work upon which he was occupied
until the day of his death — the Boddington Group, a
portrait of the family of Mr. Henry Boddington, who
at about the same time acquired a collection of Madox
Brown's pictures, which may be considered as the most
representative in existence, ranging as it does from the-
Execution of Mary Shtarf, of 1 840, to the group in
question, and comprising pictures representative of
almost every stage of Madox Brown's art.

The only facts that call for attention during the
course of the year are the unveiling, in August, of the
Rossetti memorial, an event that needs no more
comment than the bare mention of the fact, and'
Madox Brown's final return to London.

The principal reason for the change was the failing
health of Mrs. Madox Brown, whom the damp suburb,
Victoria Park, afflicted in a very serious manner.
Madox Brown, too, sighed for London, finding the
lack of any extended intellectual society very irksome.
Miss Blind, it is true, spent a portion of every year
with the Madox Browns in Manchester, and Madox^
Brown took a very great interest in her conversation
and literary work. Indeed, her work and attention to
matters connected with it formed, as he was accus-
tomed to say, one of the chief recreations of his later

GOSS/J' 38i

years. Hut even to her the journey to Manchester
was difficult. To most of his other friends of an
intellectual kind it was insuperable. Nevertheless,
he might in the end have found Manchester less un-
bearable had his own imprudence not rendered him
suddenly unpopular.

To Mr. Shields.

May 22.

The latter part of your letter has rather startled me. I mean the
phrases that it grieves and vexes you that in Manchester they had
not grown into any true recognition of my work, nor into personal
esteem for my character.

For particular reasons I shall he very obliged if you will let me
have your authority for these statements.

Just at present I have reasons, which I will state further on, for
knowing. [Perhaps ' wanting to know.']

Otherwise, hitherto, as to my art I get nothing but flattery — even
from the Corporation — giving himself much trouble to introduce me
publicly to Gladstone. The artists have made me honorary member
of their Academy, and the Brazenose Club one of their four honorary
members. We were asked and present at the lunch given at the
Jubilee Exhibition to the Prince and Princess [of Wales], &c.

As to personal consideration (except for a few enemies whom I
have wilfully created) we are not without much more than we care
for or can afford either in time or entertainment. I thought it was I
who was chiefly wanting in personal consideration to the right people
of the place.

I have refused the Mayor's dinner, and I could show you half a
do/en invitations to dinner with the best people, which we have
recently refused. We are not rich enough to keep up that sort of
thing, but we are quite on friendly terms with the only few worth, or
near enough for, knowing. . . .

Many others I have dropped or cut.

Up till recently I have had the Press with me (Liberal and Tory),
and I have treated either party with too little affection. I have

382 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1886-

certainly noticed a gradual cooling off of that estate towards me and
my works.1

But now bursts on me a state of things that I am quite unpre-
pared for, and am quite at a loss to explain. I, however, feel it, and
will suffer for it, and I see that my old plan of disdaining these things
can be pushed too far, so I am now making every effort to find oul
where the feeling originates, whether in London or in Manchester,
whether with the R.A. or with Dash. Craven assures me it is with
the former and not Dash. Duplicity is such an art among us a
free-born Britons, that while Sir Blank Blank and Dash equally wring
one's gouty hand, equally oppress one with friendliness, and are
equally vouched for as friendly, it is hard to say which is not the 1
villain.

But the villains in chief, in all opinions, seem to be

Here the letter goes over the page, whither it is
undesirable to follow it as far as this transcription is
concerned.

The matter lies to all intents and purposes in
a nutshell. That Madox Brown had enemies who
did ' plot ' against him, I hold to be unde- j
niable — have, in fact, only too certain proof-
but to a very large extent Madox Brown incurred j
their hostility by an injudicious br.usqueness that
occasionally manifested itself in his manner. I have
attempted to explain the matter in its London setting;
the Manchester trouble was no more than a variation

1 To these offences may be added a spirited attack upon the Selecting
Committee of the Exhibition. This was made in a lecture in which
Madox Brown drew attention to the many omissions that rendered an
otherwise excellent collection far from a perfectly representative expo-
sition of the art of the Queen's reign. In the year preceding, his speeches
to the unemployed had caused a great deal of annoyance in a city so
ruled by labour-employers. Cf. p. 376.

1 88 7 ST. EDMUND'S TERRACE 383

— a provincialised one — of the same tragi-comedy.
It must be added, in justice to the Northern city, that
Madox J>ro\vn met with a great deal of kindness
from private individuals, and in almost every case
in which an individual could afford him help with his
work, it was very graciously accorded.

The remaining troubles of the fall of the year are
so intimately associated with the vicissitudes of bronze-
green dados and gold-embossed wall-papers, and all the
detrimenta of a removal, that it can scarcely be con-
sidered to afford subject-matter for protracted con-
sideration.

To Mr. Shields.

I have taken No. i St. Edmund's Terrace, Regent's Park, next
but one to the Garnett's, so now at length we shall be nearly
neighbours again-— in fact, nearer than we were. The house is not a
dear one — yo/. a year — but a large fine one, and I hope high and
dry. I am allowed five quarters' rent for doing it up, so shall be able
to please myself with the decorations.

384 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROM \ 1888-

CHAPTER XVIII

1888-1893

Work and sales during 1888 89 — Work during 1890 : John Kay — 1891 :
The Opening of the Bridgewater Canal — 1892 : Brads Iiaii.' s Defence \
of Manchester — Life at St. Edmund's Terrace — Personal appearance, j
kindheartedness, &c. — Death of Dr. Hueffer and of Mrs. Madox
Brown— Reception of the Bridgcivater Canal panel, &c.— Chicago
Exhibition— Commission for a picture to be presented to the Nation
— Illness and death — October 6, 1893.

ONCE returned to London, comparative prosperity
seemed to shine on Madox Brown, and expressed
itself in its usual form of the sale of replicas.

Thus we have the sale, to Mr. Boddington, of the
duplicates of the Byron and Mary Chawortli and
Telfs Son. The former of the two was not finished
until February of the year following, though it had
been begun in 1874. The TelFs Son duplicate had
been finished in 1879.

Besides the work upon the Byron, the year 1888
was taken up with work upon the Boddington Group,
and the frescoes thus made little progress.

The 'cartoon' of the Kay subject was begun
in January, and finished, as far as design went, in
February. The large canvas was begun in October,
and occupied the rest of the year.

1 893 WORK 385

The year which followed was almost entirely given
up to work for Mr. Boddington. Fourteen of Madox
Brown's very earliest paintings were rescued from the
oblivion of cellars, and, after a certain amount of work
had been devoted to them, were deemed worthy and
sold. In February, for the same purchaser, the water-
colour duplicate of Byron and Mary Chaworth was
duly finished, and in December the ' cartoon ' of
Weights and Measures was converted into an oil
duplicate of the fresco.

The cartoon of Chethams Life Dream was con-
verted into a pastel in September, at the instance of
Mr. Riches.

Of new work, the Boddington Gro2ip was finished
in February, the painting of the John Kay in
November, and a quaint book-plate for Mr. Edward
Garnett, designed in January.

In 1890 the unfinished Stages of Cmelty of 1856
was taken up and finished in the months of August
and September. In March, the toiled John Kay was
finished and exhibited at Dowdeswell's Gallery. The
subject is as follows :—

John Kay was born at Walmersley, near Bury, in Lancashire,
about the year 1704. His great invention of the fly shuttle seems
to have been perfected in 1733 at the latter place, where he resided.
For three thousand, or perhaps five thousand, years the peoples of the
East and West had been content to go on ' throwing ' the shuttle with
the naked hand, and even as late as the middle of the eighteenth
century, in order to weave wide blankets, a couple of weavers were
needed at the loom ' throwing ' the shuttle from one to the other.
Henceforth, through the unique intellect of this Lancashire gentle-

C C

386 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1888-

man, all was to be changed. A single one-armed weaver could now
get through work that before would have needed the four arms of a
pair of weavers, and this with the sole assistance of a string and a
handle thereto attached. About twenty years after, however, the
weaving population began to notice this fact, and rioters broke into
Kay's house at Bury with the most sinister intentions. Tradition
tells us that his wife saved him from their fury by having him hurried
away concealed in a wool sheet.

In the composition, to the left, the rioters are seen smashing in
the windows, whilst on the floor in front of them lies an exemplifica-
tion of the cause of the discord — the very simple invention by means
of which two boxes fastened to the loom fire the shuttle, so to say,
to and fro into each other's mouths.

Kay's son Robert, a boy about twelve, is depicted cautiously watch-
ing the rioters, and hastening his parents' movements ; whilst Mrs. Kay
and two workmen hurry the departure of their master, for whom a
cart waits at the door. Kay, with his still disengaged hands, draws his
wife towards him and imprints what may be a last kiss on her cheek.
His two little girls are weeping and wringing their hands.

But for Kay's simple, yet epoch-fixing invention of the shuttle
which, without hands, flies backwards and forwards across the loom,
all 'the wonders and achievements of steam-weaving would never
have been perfected.

But however disastrous to him this inroad of the men might be,
the combination of the masters to resist in the law courts his just
claims to royalties proved even more so, and Kay retired to France a
ruined man.

Immediately upon the completion of the John Kay,
the cartoon of the Bridgewater Canal subject was set
about, and in April of the year following the toile of
the subject was commenced.

The frontispiece for Miss Blind's ' Dramas in
Miniature,' and a couple of illustrations for a book of
one of his grandsons, complete the tale of work
for the year 1891.

l)i;sic,N FOR Miss BLIND'S "DRAMAS IN MINIATURE." 1891.

1 893 'THE BRIDGEWATER CANAL' 387

In February of the following year the large canvas
of the Bridgewater Canal subject was finished. It is
described as follows : —

The Duke of Bridgewater, after whom the canal was named,
undertook this great and, in those days, original work, under the
advice and direction of the eminent engineer, James Brindley. The
Duke was then comparatively young— twenty years younger than his
engineer— and he took up the work in order to facilitate the transport
of the coals on his estate to the city of Manchester. During the
progress of it he lived in a house near by, with no companions hut
his engineer and his estate agent. Such was his enthusiasm for the
undertaking that his only diversion from it seemed to be, every five
minutes during the evening, tapping the barometer, with a view to
the next day's work, a pipe and a glass of water his only refresh-
ments. He had been engaged to one of the two beautiful Miss
Gunnings, great friends of George III. ; but having quarrelled with
his intended about her sister, he never noticed any woman again.
He died immensely rich, and collected the Bridgewater Gallery of
Old Masters.

Brindley, the engineer, used to make his calculations on a method
of his own that few could understand, for he could neither read nor
write. When a Committee of Parliament doubted his plans for
carrying water across hills, he procured a hundredweight of clay, and,
in their presence, modelled a canal with it, which held every drop of
its water till next day, and so convinced them. He married a school-
girl of fifteen — commencing the courtship by taking her bags of
sweetmeats—but she made him an excellent wife. The opening of
the Bridge water Canal took place at Barton Aqueduct, over the river
It-well, in 1761. It is represented in the fresco by the first barge
starting for coal drawn by a pair of mules. The bargee's wife steers
the boat, with her twin babies (got up for the occasion) tied on the
cabin roof in front of her. The Duke, from one of his own barges,
witnesses the proceedings. Brindlev, who always had about him a
wicker-coated flask of brandy, with which to lessen the severity of
his arduous duties, reminds his Grace (who was not of a convivial
turn) that he has omitted providing refreshments.

CC 2

388 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROIVN 1888-

A boy has been sent in a boat by farm people living down the
canal to fetch coals. The Duke's orders were always to execute the
smaller orders first.

The rest of the year was occupied with the work
for the succeeding panel, which was commenced in
April, and with designing several scenes for Sir Henry
Irving's representation of ' King Lear.'

In March of the year following the last of the
panels was finished, and with it the whole task brought
to an end.

This panel represents the defence of Manchester under Bradshaw
the Regicide, who, with forty musketeers, defeated and put to rout
between three and four thousand of King Charles's troops under
Lords Robert Strange and Montague.

During the action, which took place on Salford Bridge, and for
which the town received the thanks of the Parliament, two barns
which were situated near the bridge took fire somehow and blazed
fiercely during the engagement, much to the inconvenience of the
combatants.

At the Salford or nearer end of the bridge is to be seen the small
chapel which was first built for the good of his soul by a pious and
wealthy yeoman of Eccles — Thomas Del Roche by name. It was
latterly used as a gaol or lock up house.

It is certain that the Gothic-arched bridge was built during
Edward III.'s reign, and stood from that early date till its destruction
in 1837, the year of her present Majesty's accession.

The gentleman who has been unhorsed, and is being released by
his retainers, may be Lord Montague, who, with Lord R. Strange,
aided in the abortive attempt upon Manchester. Bradshaw, who
with his musketeers so powerfully contributed to its defence, is seen
in the distance firing his musket from a gun-rest, as at this date was
customary.

This was Madox Brown's last finished work. Upon
its completion he set about the task of making a full-

THE BROWN OWL

389

Il.I.l'SI R A I Ii)\ F'tOM I 1 IK ' BROWN ( )\VI., ' 1892. '

sized duplicate of the fresco of Wickliffe on Trial, but
this was destined to remain unfinished.

1 From original in possession of Mr. Edward Garnett.

390 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1888-

I have passed thus quickly over Madox Brown's
work during the period of his life at St. Edmund's
Terrace, because, as a matter of fact, so few events of
importance presented themselves during that pefiod as
to make anything like detailed treatment of separate
years almost impossible.

Upon the whole, the closing years of Madox
Brown's life were fairly prosperous ones, and but for
inevitable events might have been happy.

I have totiched for a moment upon the subject of
prosperity, because, during the last few months, of his
life Madox Brown was troubled in his mind by the
fact that rumours of his extreme destitution were
spread abroad, and made their appearance in various
printed records. This fact was very largely due to
the zeal of Madox Brown's very good friend, Mr. Harry
Quilter, who, in his book on ' Preferences in Art,' has
represented Madox Brown as groaning under a load of
poverty. ' Just as if I was living in a dog-kennel,'
Madox Brown said, on hearing the passage in question
read to him.

As a matter of fact, Madox Brown wras . really
vastly pleased with his house, and regarded it as
extremely commodious1 — the maligned studio, in par-
ticular, he considered to be comfortable and suitable
in the extreme. To an artist accustomed to the
gorgeousness of latter-day studios, the ordinary room,

1 In a letter to Miss Blind in 1887 he writes that 'when finished it
will be grandly picturesque,' and as such I am sure he considered his
abused house.

iS93 HIS PERSON

39*

with its north and east lights, and with none of the
customary paraphernalia of rich stuffs and 'properties,'
must have seemed bare and cold to a degree. But to
Madox Brown, who, rightly or wrongly, considered
anything that was not strictly useful as a trouble and a
hindrance, the room, with its old furniture, that had
accompanied him through life, presented all the appear-
ance of home and homeliness.

It was indeed a pleasant sight on a Sunday even-
ing after supper to see Madox Brown seated in his
famous old armchair, holding in one hand his night-cap
of toddy, and with the other keeping off the heat of a
good coal fire.

There he would sit and talk to one or other of the
two almost lifelong friends, Mr. Shields or Mr. Cave
Thomas, whose visits were periodical and society very
congenial.

His conversation was marvellously entertaining,
and his conversational mannerisms naive and charm-
ing. His range of subjects was almost unbounded,
and his faculty of throwing his whole mind into the
subject under consideration and of enunciating original
views most unusual. His speech was always distinct
and noticeably slow, as if he desired to attach great
importance to all his utterances.

His personal appearance at this period of his life
was singularly prepossessing. His thick hair, which
he kept always parted in the middle, and which Mrs.
Madox Brown always cut, had latterly become quite

392 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1888

white, and his beard, somewhat thinner, was of the
same quality of colour. His facial hue was invari-
ably fresh, and his face comparatively little wrinkled.
Until almost the last hours of his life he preserved all
these characteristics intact.

His personal mannerisms were rather marked.
When telling a story he made free use of his hands to
emphasise the 'points.' His 'deportment,' as a rule,
seemed to be derived from old-fashioned sources. He
had much of the elaborate courteousness of a grand
seigneur, but when once in the full flow of conversation
his absent-mindedness rendered him oblivious of every-
thing but the subject under discussion. He had an
infinite store of 'good stories ' to draw upon. Indeed,
often as I have heard him tell a tale with one moral or
another during the course of three years, I hardly
remember to have heard him repeat the same story
twice. But his stories, although usually of the nature
of reminiscences, were, as a rule, either too highly
4 coloured ' or too personal, and dealt so much with
persons either still alive or recently deceased, that I
have felt reluctantly compelled to suppress all too
many of them.

He treated every one with whom he came in con-
tact as an equal, and deferred to the opinion of every
person however uninfluential or unproved in the battle
of life. To these qualities he owed the attraction for
young men that he possessed in a peculiar degree,
and it was one of the most pleasing features of that

:893 LOSSES

393

period of his life that a number of young men with
one talent or another frequented the house.

His reverence for youth was a most touching thing;
to see ; the opinions of a young man, if uttered in his
presence or to him, were canons that almost certainly
ousted his own, formulated though they might have
been from the bitterest of experiences.

I remember — and the reminiscence may be par-
doned for its obtrusion in these pages — hearing Madox
Brown commenting upon an illustrated paper — the
' Daily Graphic,' I think.

'Ah,' he said, 'how cleverly these young men
sketch. I never remember to have seen such work.
If only / could do anything so good.' And that was his
attitude towards the products of such widely diversified
art as that produced by, let us say, the supporters of
the ' Century Guild Hobby Horse ' and those of the
now extinct ' Societe des Vingt.' It is pleasant to
think that both bodies of young men did him honour
in return.

But this kind of pleasure was too much chequered
by sadder happenings.

In January 1889 died his son-in-law, Dr. Hueffer,
for whom he entertained a very sincere affection, and
by whose death some of the burden of a new family of
children was cast upon his shoulders. ' And I am con-
fronted with all manner of questions which I had
begun to think I was disengaged from for the future/
he says, writing to Mr. Shields.

394 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1888-

In October of the year following, after a protracted
and painful illness, occurred the death of Mrs. Madox
Brown — a very severe blow, although Madox Brown's
position was redeemed from solitariness by the com-
panionship of his daughter, Mrs. Hueffer, and the
proximity of the William Rossettis, who had moved
to St. Edmund's Terrace.

Mrs. Rossetti's precarious health was, however, more
matter for misgiving, only too well justified, as it proved.

In spite of all these griefs, Madox Brown continued
to work as quietly and unostentatiously as had ever
been the case. Perhaps the most cruel of all his many
causes for sorrow was the opprobrium with which the
panel of the Bridgewater Canal wras received on its
instalment at Manchester. The matter is not one into
which it is necessary to enter minutely. That the
work does show signs of a failing hand is without
doubt, and, however mortifying such a proceeding
might seem to the artist, the Committee of Decoration
were perhaps justified in demanding that the last panel
should be submitted for their sanction before its instal-
lation on the wall. It is, however, difficult not to sym-
pathise with Madox Brown, especially when we take
into consideration the exceedingly coarse manner in
which the work itself was spoken of by one or two of
the most prominent members of the Corporation.

In the event, Madox Brown was only deterred
from his purpose of selling the last panel to a private
purchaser by the representations of his friends.

AN HONOUR 395

The weary task of the decoration of the buildings,
which had cost so many years of his life, was thus
brought to a very bitter end, and Madox Brown may
be pardoned for thinking, what there is no very great
reason to believe was not entirely the case, that his
labours had received no recognition whatever. Another
cause for some discomfiture to him was to be found
in the fact that, although during this period of his life
he attempted to gain some official recognition abroad,
his works, which were exhibited at Berlin and Chicago,
attracted no attention of any sort. It is, however, to
be said that the French Government meditated and
even commenced negotiations1 for the purchase of the
picture of Romeo and Juliet. The picture had, how-
ever, unfortunately been previously disposed of by its
owner to a private person in Chicago.

An honour of an unusual kind, accorded to Madox
Brown during these last years of his life, became
latterly a matter of some cheer to him.

I refer to a commission to paint a replica of his
picture of Wickliffc on Trial, given him by a com-
mittee of artists and gentlemen. This picture was
intended for presentation to the nation.

A suspicion, perhaps not altogether unfounded,2
that this honour was to some extent the outcome of

1 These negotiations were carried on through Miss Blind, then in
Paris. Miss Blind informs me that the French authorities still contem-
plate the purchase of one of Madox Brown's pictures.

To Mr. F. C,. Stephens and Mr. Frederick Shields, two of the
oldest and certainly sincerest of Madox Brown's friends, the credit of

396 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1888-

charitable motives caused Madox Brown such acute
dissatisfaction that he summarily refused the com-
mission.

Eventually, upon the assurance of Mr. Shields that
the scheme was not the outcome of, let us say, an
Academic plot for his humiliation, Madox Brown con-
sented to carry out the work.

'Three men of eminence,' says Mr. Shields, 'de-
clined to subscribe. Why ? '

* " Had you asked upon the ground of necessitous
circumstances, we would gladly have responded. But
since you ask in order that an honour of altogether
exceptional and unprecedented nature be rendered to
Mr. F. Madox Brown we cannot consent to join in the
tribute." '

It was upon this commission that Madox Brown
was engaged until a few days before his death.

During the year immediately preceding, fits of
illness had begun to occur with alarming recurrence.
On one occasion this took the form of a mild htmi-ptigie ,
depriving him for the time of the use of his right hand.
' I must just set to work with my left,' he said several

' engineering ' this testimonial is due. I feel certain that it did afford
Madox Brown a great deal of quiet pleasure. It was like a ray of winter
sunshine falling upon a traveller in a sheltered hollow, to use a well-worn
metaphor. As I have already mentioned in the course of this work, the
money raised was devoted to the purchase of the picture of Christ
Washing Peter's Feet, which was presented to the National Gallery,
and to acquiring and presenting to schools of art various cartoons and
designs for stained glass. The subscribers included, besides old friends
like Holman Hunt and William Morris, artists not of his intimate
acquaintance, but of extreme greatness, like Mr. G. F. Watts.

1 893 DEATH 397

times, looking at his hand; and until its normal strength
returned he did so.

Upon the Saturday preceding his death he worked
until darkness intervened, and then, whilst cleaning his
palette, pointed to his name inscribed on the upper
bevelling of the frame, and laying down his brushes
upon his painting cabinet, said, referring to the fact
that the picture was just half-finished, ' There, I've got
it all finished as far as the 4< X." I'm very glad,
because it seems as if I was going home.'

On the following day he felt too ill to get up,
though able to sit up in bed and talk with very much
of his accustomed vivacity, and, on the evening of the
following day he contrived, although with some diffi-
culty, to dictate to the present writer the sketch of
parts of his life, of which use has been made in the
opening chapters of this record. His last quite
coherent words must, I think, have been uttered whilst
advising some alterations to a work of Miss Blind's,
or perhaps in taking leave of Mrs. Rossetti,1 who was
on the point of departure for the Riviera. At that time
he seemed no worse than he had been during many fits
of illness of the ten preceding years. Miss Blind writes
to me describing her last visit to him : — ' I found him
more vivacious and alert than for some months past.
He listened with his usual vivid sympathy to some
poems I had lately written, and the remarks he made
showed the clearness of his mind to be undimmed. At

1 Mrs. Rossetti, who was at this time seriously ill, died in the Riviera
in the April following.

398 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1888-

his express wish I went to Tunbridge Wells to look
for rooms for himself, Mrs. Hueffer, and her daughter.
The idea of going there seemed to please him greatly.'

Almost immediately afterwards, however, the
seriousness of his illness became so evident that Mrs.
Hueffer remained to nurse him during the night. At
some early period in the morning a stroke of an
apoplectic nature intervened, and on the day following
—October 6 — he died quite peacefully.

At his funeral, which took place on the loth of the
month, a number of Madox Brown's oldest friends \
assembled. Following the custom of French unsec-
tarian burials, a farewell oration was delivered by Mr.
Moncure Con way, who had performed the same office
over the grave of Oliver Madox Brown.

So died Madox Brown — a man who, had his fate
led him nearer the seats of the mighty, would assuredly
have been an influential feature of his country and time.
I cannot help thinking that amongst a people so deeply
moved by ' figures ' as is ours, Madox Brown's posi-
tion, apart from his work, should have been to some
extent that of Dr. Johnson, or even of Carlyle. That
his influence would then have been widely stimu-
lating I cannot doubt. Perhaps it was so ; for the
circle of his acquaintance was wide. A deep thinker
he was not, nor in any sense a scientific or methodical
one ; but his utterances were nearly always trenchant,
and nearly always afforded ground for thought.

1 893 DEATH

399

His earlier years were rather embittered, rather
tumultuous, rather disturbed by torrents of passion.
He was then distinctly rugged, perhaps a little self-
assertive, and even overbearing. We see as much in
the fragment of his diary that I have quoted, where
veins of harshness crop up, like boulders on a sandy
moorland road.

At that period, lying, perhaps, under the slightly
unsympathetic influence of minds like those of mem-
bers of the Manchester School, he was, without doubt,
a little over-utilitarian, didactic, and distinctly militant.
He had, in fact, a touch of the English Philistine
in his composition.

And yet, how delightfully naive-minded he was
even then his diary can tell — how he goes to church
with ' Emma looking like an angel in her new bonnet/
moralises over poor humanity in a hospital basement,
and so forth.

As time went on his mental aspect broadened little
by little, and as his interests became more extended he
himself became less and less didactic, and thus in the
autumn of his life he was the most loveable, the
sweetest, of all men. But he seemed so only to those
who loved him, and this, perhaps, because his defects
were so much the ' defects of his qualities.' As he
says of Rossetti, quoting Carlyle, ' How much easier
it is to note the flaws in a circle than to grasp the
whole sweep of its circumference ! '

To a large extent he was the creature of impulse,

400 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1888-

to an equally large one he was unnecessarily circum-
spect. To any one in an inferior position, any one
humble or needy, he was elaborately polite ; to any one
whom he suspected of patronising him he was capable
of being hastily and singularly disagreeable.

This sympathy with the ' humble and meek ' was
one of the most marked points in his character. As
Miss Blind has recorded, ' Out of doors the simplest
and most familiar natural sights and sounds infected
him with childlike delight.' This to some extent
injured his sense of proportion in all critical matters.
The utterances of a navvy had as much weight with
him as those of many distinguished philosophers, and
seemed to him infinitely more picturesque.

That which was near him he deemed far more im-
portant than things of greater weight but out of sight.
In this his sympathies, once engaged, led him to
extravagant lengths, and he would not infrequently
declare that the works of any young painter or poet
with whom he had lately been in contact were equal
to those of Raphael or Milton. To that extent his
judgment was continually distorted and his utterances
must be listened to with caution.

On the other hand, his sympathies led him to
encourage a nearly infinite number of struggling
workers. No one, I think, ever came to him for help
of any kind without his rendering all that lay in his
power. Of his open-handed, unconsidered charity I
have already spoken ; in no case could any terms
exaggerate this side of his character. With open eyes

1 893 DEATH

401

he would assist people who had again and again
imposed upon him, having constantly in his mind the
thought that, however unneedful his help before had
been, it might now be really needed.

Good hater as he was, once an ' enemy ' had fallen
upon evil days he would go out of his way to ' do him
good by stealth.' Of such facts I have an intimate
knowledge.

Of officials, and particularly of Royal Academicians,
he was profoundly distrustful ; but a great portion of
his quite preposterous prejudices were, as he was well
enough aware, the mere emanations of persistent
wrong-headedness.

As to his creed. In his early days he was a con-
ventional member of the Church of England ; in later
years he was an absolute Agnostic, with a great dislike
for anything of the nature of priestcraft.

As to his politics. In his early days he was nearly
a Whig ; in his later life he was by temperament a
good deal of a ' Tory of the old school,' but his intellect
made him a Socialist of an extreme type. To this, of
course, his desire to better the lot of the poor contri-
buted largely.

»

In conclusion, I think it is due to myself to say
that I have throughout this book written of my grand-
father in as critical and unimpassioned a manner as I
could command.

I commenced the work under the impression that

D D

402 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN 1893

no one else would undertake it, and that since Madox
Brown seemed worthy of commemoration, even a
descendant's record would be better than none at all.
When I had ploughed the furrow too far to turn back
I heard with real regret that another person of in-
finitely greater worth and weight than myself had
contemplated a similar labour.

My personal estimate of my grandfather as an
artist is such, that did I attempt to fix his place in the
ranks of the Immortals, it would indeed be a high one.
Therefore I have hitherto preferred merely to chronicle
his works, and when, in the following chapter, I
attempt to criticise them, I shall restrict myself as far
as possible to simple analysis.

But when I come to write of Madox Brown as a
man, my debt of gratitude to him is so great, the
thought of him as he was so constantly present in my
mind, that did I allow myself to praise -him at all my
emotion must carry me too far for sober print. There-
fore my book is a documentary one. I am aware of
the effect that such an attitude must have upon it
and its readers. But being unable to steer a better
course, I have preferred to the Scylla of a relative's
emotional praise the Charybclis of a simple chronicle.

403

CHAPTER XIX

MADOX UROWN'S WORK

IN the present chapter I propose to attempt to outline
the course of Madox Brown's art evolution — a process,
in his case, of more than common interest.

During the first five and twenty years of his work-
ing life — say from 1840 to 1865 — his work followed, or
rather forecast, the course of the art life of the country
during that period. In this he was like William Dyce
to some extent, but unlike any other English artist
that I can call to mind. After 1865 he fell out of the
general movement, 'working his own salvation' in a
groove that led him far away from other men until,
at last, he stood quite alone — almost as much so as
' one standing companionless on a vast moor side.'

Even when working in company with others he
was a solitary man, rather self-centred than easily in-
fluenced, once he had broken away from the trammels
of the schools.

This solitary habit, if good in its way, was bad
inasmuch as it subsequently delayed his development
for a time. But before this he had learnt the secrets

D D 2

4o4 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

of the older schools — had really become a past-master
of the Academic styles that he afterwards did so much
to sweep qff the face of the earth.

His first food was received at the hands of the
Belgians — nurses bad enough in all conscience.

In Belgium the Classical school still retained a
good deal of influence, even in the late thirties, after
Wappers had led the Romantic charge against its
ranks.

Wappers himself had been a pupil of the great
David, who, it may be remembered, had settled in
Brussels after the Napoleonic overthrow. But Wappers
had turned and overthrown the school of his old
master, had founded an enormous reputation 1 and
a ' National ' school by one picture of a patriotic
kind, and had then gone on to immortalise local
revolutions. Just at that time, too, the wave of
Catholic Art was making itself felt in the sluggish
backwater of Belgian Art.

It was, however, neither to the Classicists nor the
Pietists that Madox Brown was apprenticed, but to
the ' distinguished ' Wappers himself.

Under Wrappers he learnt to paint on a bituminous
ground and to draw in a Belgian manner, and to
have no sense of the joy of colour ; but he learnt an

1 The Belgian school of that day was immensely popular all over the
world, particularly so in England, where, in after years, Madox I>rm\n
gained great prestige simply because he was ' up in the Belgian school,'
as Mr. John Leighton expressed it. This was when he was working on his
cartoons for Westminster Hall at Tudor Lodge.

INFLUENCES AND DEVELOPMENTS 405

infinite number of the secrets of his trade — fresco,
encaustic, modelling- in wax, etching, lithography,
and even, I believe, pastels. In fact, to this work-
ing under Wappers he owed it that in after years
he could turn his hand, at least in a rough and
ready manner, to almost every branch of the plastic
arts.

Whilst at Antwerp, at the age of nineteen, he com-
menced the enormous canvas of the ExeciUion of Mary
Queen of Scots. This picture, which was finished
before he reached his twenty-first birthday, may be
regarded as the chief product of his Belgian disciple-
ship.

With all its defects, its heaviness of drawing, its
' paintiness,' and its sombre colour, it remains a
remarkable work, effective and dramatic in the ex-
treme ; the whole scheme is engineered and carried
out with an amount of assurance not at all to be ex-
pected of such a mere youth. It was finished in
Paris, whither he had gone, in 1841, at the age of
twenty.

In Paris he did not enrol himself as a pupil at any
of the ateliers, for already the leaven of his independent
nature was beginning to work within him.

When he was only twenty he conceived the idea
of lighting his pictures realistically. Whether the idea
was a mere analogical development by Madox Brown
of some other realist-idea that he had picked up
amongst his comrades, I cannot say ; but, whether or

406 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

no, the step was a very great one — how great a one it
is difficult to realise nowadays.

* Those were the days/ to quote Madox Brown
himself, ' when my respected master, the late Baron
Wappers, having been commissioned by his Govern-
ment to paint the Belgian Revolution, had, for speed's
sake, two of his pupils, whose duty it was to smear in
with their hands, early in the morning, as much asphal-
tum as he could afterwards cover in with revolutionary
heroes during the remainder of the long summer day.'
Madox Brown's own work was free from few of his
master's faults. His early drawing, vigorous enough,
was eminently Belgic, his colours dark to indistinguish-
ability. As he himself says : ' This all artists liked in
these days — even Turner, I believe — but no one who
was not an artist liked it. These were the days when
Wilkie's best works were coated with asphaltum, which
has since made fissures all over them ; when Hilton's
Sabrina was so flooded with it that it now has to be
hung alternately right side and wrong side upwards to
prevent the figures from entirely running either to the
top or bottom of the picture.'

On the top of the asphaltum dogma was the studio-
light dogma, the doctrine that proclaimed that every
picture must contain twice as much shadow as light, and
so forth ad infinitum. For an artist to declaim against
any of these was as dangerous in those days as it would
have been to decry the Host in Papal Rome ; and so
Madox Brown's idea — the idea of a mere boy of twenty

INFLUENCES AND DEVELOPMENTS 407

— was shouted down by his comrades and studio-
fellows and perforce abandoned.

.There remain two pictures of his, two subjects
drawn from Byron's Manfred, in which the realistic
scheme of lighting is carried out, falteringly enough
but recognisably. As I have said, he was forced to
abandon the doctrine in public, although he retained
independence enough to work by himself as no one's
pupil.

He turned his attention to ' Rembrandt and the
Spanish masters ' at the Louvre, and copied them
diligently for the better part of two years, during
which time he turned out several pictures more or
less Rembrandtesque, notably a very fine Parisina s
Sleep, now in the possession of Mr. Henry Bodding-
ton.

During all this time he was an assiduous worker
' from the life/ making literally innumerable studies in
every possible medium.

To what extent the ' French school ' 1 of the day,
with its cross-tides and currents, influenced him it is
difficult to decide. To say that he remained uninflu-
enced would of course be absurd.

The France of the day was the France of Dela-
roche, Delacroix, Gericault, and Ingres, to mention the

1 During his stay in France he executed a number of designs from
subjects in the Sentimental Journey which are almost Hogarthian in
conception, and which show signs of having been inspired by illustrations
by men like Nanteuil or Baron, These, however, had no ultimate
consequence.

4o8 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

men whom Madox Brown especially admired in after
years, and he must have drawn a good deal of
inspiration from the three first, perhaps more than any
from Delaroche.

In any case Madox Brown left Paris a master of
his style, firm in every direction — witness the ' West-
minster Hall ' cartoons, the Harold, the Spirit of
Justice, and the Adam and Eve.

To the French, I think, he was most indebted for
his choice of subject. The Parisians of that day de-
cidedly leaned towards the dramatically tragic in theme
— such subjects as Hecuba going to be Sacrificed, or
the Enfants d'Edouard covered the walls of the
Beaux Arts year after year. The gloomily tragic
chords struck by the great masters of the day caused
a sympathetic vibration in the French public and so
gave the key for the entire chorus of the younger
men.

What part of his inspiration was not drawn from
such sources came, as I have said when dealing with
Madox Brown's life in Paris, from the works of Byron,
the only modern English poet of sufficiently extended
reputation to be known to Madox Brown. He was
then to all intents and purposes a foreigner, and as
such he regarded himself during the short stay in
England whilst he was actually executing his cartoons
and before his journey to Italy.

This Italian journey proved the turning point of
his career ; but it was not, I think, from Italian art

1\ELUEXCES AND DEVELOPMENTS

409

that the first impulse came — the violent thrust that
drove him down the slope towards realism.

On the way he made the acquaintance of Holbein's
works at Basle, and in Holbein he found what I will
allow myself to call a kindred spirit.

I do not think that all the magnificence of Italian
art, as a whole, that he then saw spread out before
him touched him nearly as closely as did the sincere
and direct — one may call it archaic — work of Hans
Holbein.

\\ hilst in Italy he commenced a gigantic work,
which was to do for English poetry what Italian
painters had done for Italian sentiment. It afterwards
took shape as the Chaucer at the Court of Edward III.,
which was only finished in 1851, six years atter the
date of his Italian journey.

The sight of Italian pictures, en masse, quite broke
up the orthodox inclination of his colour-sense — just
as the sight of the Basle Holbeins had dispelled the
clouds of his hitherto orthodox technique — rendered it
tentative and occasionally almost bizarre, in fact.

Madox Brown returned from Italy in the following
year an artistic revolutionist. He deliberately deter-
mined to begin again and work out for himself an
absolutely realistic style, casting aside everything that
he had learned. Hence his Portrait of Mr. Bamford
painted in 1846, of which he says :

It is the first evidence of an entirely new direction of thought and
feeling on my part. . . . To those who value facile completeness

4io UI<E OF FORD MAD OX BROWN

and handling above painstaking research into nature the change
must appear inexplicable and provoking. Even to myself, at this
distance of time, this instmctive turning back to get round by another
road seems remarkable. But in reality it was only the inevitable-
result of the want of principle, or rather confliction of many jarring
principles, under which the student had to begin in those days.
Wishing to substitute simple imitation for scenic effectiveness, and
purity of natural colour for scholastic depth of tone, I found no
better way of doing so than to paint what I called a Holbein of the
nineteenth century. I might perhaps have done so more effectively,
but stepping backwards is stumbling work at best.

The next two years, which were the first after his
final settlement in England, bring us up to the period
of the starting of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood ;
and although I am not the person to decide my grand-
father's claims to be considered the originator of that
movement, I will dwell for some moments upon the
subject.1 The three most important pictures of Madox
Brown's which belong by date to this period — his Wick-

1 It may be asked : What about Madox Brown's connection with the
English school of the day. I do not myself think that he owed much
to its influence ; he himself in a letter (published in the Westminster
Gazette after his death) says that to it he owed his artistic salvation ;
but it is a little difficult to quite take that view of the matter unless,
as Madox Brown did, at the time he wrote the letter one should feel
ultra-patriotic. I will try to present Madox Brown's subsequent view
of the English artists of those times. The artists who most appealed to
him were without doubt Etty, Eastlake, Cope, and Haydon — afterwards
Dyce and Maclise, but Etty perhaps most of all. 'He taught Millais
and all our school to colour,' he says, in a lecture devoted to Victorian
Art. * We all went to him to learn flesh-painting, but so subtle was his
touch and exquisite the tints that he could produce with his three or four
pigments that the more they gazed at him the less they knew. A whole
school followed him— Frith, Egg, Elinore, Hook, and Poole— but at such
a distance that no one found it out. The only one who caught some
of his inspiration was William Hunt, who stippled in water colours.

IXFLUENCES AND DEVELOPMENTS

411

liffc reading his Translation of the Bible to John of
Gaunt, his Bedside of Lear, and Chaucer at the Court of
Edward III. — supply sufficient data for us to go upon.

They are all more or less incongruous and selective.
In the composition of two of them at least, the Wickliffe
and the Chaucer, we find very strong traces of the in-
fluence of the 'German,' Cartoon, or Architectural style.
That is to say — they are balanced so as to fall well within
a Gothic arch, the hero or heroes of the picture being
nearly in the exact centre and highest in the composi-
tion, the remainder of the figures by one device or
another dropping lower and lower into the body of the
picture. This is not so much the case with the Lear,
the composition of which is of later date. The
Chaucer, it must be remembered, was composed in
1845 and altered in 1846. The }Vickliffe was alto-
gether the product of 1847, tne Lear of 1848.

On the other hand, decided attempts at realism of
light and of attention to archaeological detail are made
in all of them, with varied success. The best way of

Millais, also, when quite a boy, watched him and extracted some of his
secret, which was an open one to genius.'

To Cope, Madox Brown extends high praise in saying that some
of his works 'are almost as fine as Maclise's.'

Eastlake Madox Brown admired for the occasional beauty of his
female heads. Haydon had great qualities of the 'grand style" kind,
but his colour and general effects were wanting in attractiveness.

Most frequently mentioned by Madox Brown were Dyce and Maclise,
two names that somehow seem to link themselves together for no very
sufficient reason. For invention and imagination, Maclise was unequalled,
and to make up for lack of colour he had at least eminent dramatic facul-
ties. (See p. 36.)

4i2 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

summing the three pictures up would be to say that
in them all Madox Brown made strenuous efforts to
be absolutely realistic, but that his early training
hampered him, and rendered his efforts up to this
point rather nugatory.

The Pre-Raphaelite movement had, of course,
sides other than the merely realistic. Its members
wished their work to exhibit minuteness of finish and a
certain Early Italian sentiment — the first as young men
wanting in technical skill ; the second as persons draw-
ing from the Early Italian masters their sentiments of
what nature-inspired art should be.

Up to this time (1851) Madox Brown's work
showed neither of these qualities, and though in the
decade following he did out-Herod Herod in the
matter of minuteness, his real heart was never quite
in accorcl with Early Italian sentiments.

As a Teuton, I like to think — and I feel certain—
that whatever of Madox Brown's art was most indi-
vidual was inspired by those Basle Holbeins in the
year 1845. I am °f course aware that his work was
never much more Holbeinesque in character than it
was Orcagnesque or Botticellian, let us say. Never-
theless, it was from Holbein that he drew the idea of
direct working from nature.

Immediately after the completion of the picture of
Chaucer in 1851 Madox Brown plunged straight into
the study of absolute realism and of almost absolute
minuteness of rendering.

INFLUENCES AND DEVELOPMENTS 413

His first essay — a smallish picture called the Pretty
'Baa-Lambs — is rather stiff and ugly, not at all habile
or masterly in any way, but a mere study of certain
objects under a certain light. His next, the sufficiently
well-known Christ and Peter, is realistic enough
and masterly in every way, but does not carry the
minuteness of its rendering of details to any great
lengths — at least as the picture at present stands. It
was, however, so much ' pulled together ' and retouched
during the next twenty or thirty years that its character
is quite altered. It is now essentially a colourist's
picture, very glowing and bright, but at the same time
harmonious and agreeable in the. extreme. At the
time the picture was painted Madox Brown, though a
strong and sometimes individual colourist, was not an
agreeable one, nor did he become so for many years
subsequently ; until precisely the time when the picture
was last worked on.

During the eleven years or so that ensued (up to
1863) Madox Brown completed only two important
pictures. These were the Last of England and
Work, one of which occupied about three years,
the other part of eleven, in the painting. Two
others — Stages of Cruelty and Cromwell on his
Farm — although begun during this period, were not
completed till long afterwards.1 There remain, there-

1 The landscapes English Autumn Afternoon, and others painted in
Hampsteacl and Hendon may also be mentioned. They belong both
chronologically and aesthetically to the period under consideration.

4i4 LIFE, OF FOkH .}fADOX BROWN

fore, as perfect specimens of Madox Brown's historic
work during this period only the Last of England and
Work.

Speaking more incisively than justly, I should say
that these monuments of industry are not, on the
whole, aesthetically successful. In both of them atten-
tion has been paid to such matters as chiaroscuro and
composition. In the Last of England this has been
done with comparative success ; but I think it is other-
wise with the more ambitious Work. When one
stands before the picture it is difficult for the eye to
find a point on which to settle. The colour, too, is not
* colourist's colour,' at least as I understand the words ;
it is wanting in harmoniousness, disturbing, and what
not. One might almost say that both pictures had been
painted with the then newly discovered aniline dyes.
I write these words well knowing that they are an
indictment of the painter of Work, but I think them
true in substance.

On the other hand, one may be almost unbounded
in one's praise of the strong points of both works.
The Last of England, as far as its rendering of the
dramatic motive that the painter desired to express is
concerned, is surely unsurpassable. It pays its tribute
to the stern force of irresistible, slow-brooding Destiny
quite as unmistakably as any of the great tragedies
have done. It is as remorseless in its own way as
either Lear or the Bacch& of Euripides. In its own
way, too, Work is a masterpiece — as an exposition of

IXFLUENCES AND DEVELOPMENTS 415

a sort of Carlylean energy and exuberance. And so,
perhaps, it is the very nature of the work to be want-
ing in repose ; rather voyant and disagreeable.

The Cromwell on It is Farm has many of the quali-
ties of }}'ork, but all of them modified and chastened,
as it were. Supposing oneself to be considering the
picture for the first time : once one's eye had taken in
the dominant figure of Cromwell himself, one would
find it almost as difficult to settle upon some other
portion of the crowded canvas as in the case of
ll'ork itself. The colour is, however, essentially that
of Madox Brown's ' colourist ' period — the seventies,
or thereabouts. The exposition of the subject, the
maze of references and cross-references in the picture,
is every whit as astounding as in Work itself.

The- reason for these changes is not far to seek.
The picture was conceived and planned out at very
much the same time as the Work and the Last of
J:ng/and — namely, in 1856. It is therefore the product
of exactly the same train of thought. When he
executed the picture in 1873, Madox Brown copied
his old design very faithfully, but modified it in just
those directions that I have tried to indicate above.

The fact is that after 1863 Madox Brown's work
underwent a very remarkable change — change which
I will try to account for.

He had been in turn, as an artist, a Belgian, a
Frenchman, a cartoonist, and a pure realist; all of
these more or less as of the nature born. He was

4i6 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

•

now to become an aestheticist, and it is as such pro-
bably that he is most widely known, nowadays. But,
speaking candidly, I cannot say that I think this
stage of his art was nearly as much his own as was
the realistic one.

A man of an unusually open mind, he was prone
to see the good that was in anything, particularly in
whatever style of art was brought continuously under
his notice, and his singularly developed dramatic
powers allowed him to enter into and sympathise to
the full with any phase, whether of art or of human
life.

At this period he fell much into the society of
the brilliant group of men connected with the firm of
Morris, Marshall, Falkner, & Co. As a matter of
fact, he was, as we have seen, one of the originating
members of the ' Firm ' whose tendency was so
marked. Thus he now began to pay far more atten-
tion to the ' sensuous ' side of his art, whereas during
his realistic period the ' idea ' in his pictures had
triumphed.

For the next decade and a half (from 1865 to 1880
or thereabouts) his pictures became rather essentially
decorative than essentially realist. He aimed at pro-
ducing poetic subjects harmoniously, and, as I have
said, sensuously.1 But it should be remembered that,

1 In a letter to Mr. Shields, written in 1876, Madox Brown angrily
and reiteratively insists that his works are all ' essentially sensuous ' and
not ' intellectual.'

INFLUENCES AND DEVELOPMENTS 417

throughout all its phases, his art was absolutely dra-
matic— he was, in fact, a dramatist expressing himself
plastically.

Thus we have pictures, like the Entombment and
Romeo and [ulict, or the Cromwell Protector of the
}\indois — works all masterly in colour and massing,
and as mystically, amorously, or physically dramatic as
can be.

He himself set his progress in colour down to the
example of his daughters, both excellent colourists.
I think they themselves were strongly influenced by
the colour of Rossetti and of members of the ' Firm.'
Apart from this matter of colour, his pictures now
became pictures of balanced masses as opposed to
pictures of combined details. This is of course to be
accounted for in two ways — one that the natural course
of time brought about a mellowing of the painter's
vigour, he having now reached the age of forty-three
or so. The years between 1852 and 1865 had been
dedicated to such very hard and unremunerative studies
(as I will call the pictures, finished and unfinished
works, of that period) that, having reached such an
age, it was natural that he should wish to harvest, as it
were, the fruits of his labours, It was, in fact, partly
a natural process.

On the other hand, there is so close a connection
between the styles of his designs for the Brothers
Dalziels' Bible, his cartoons for stained glass, and of
his latter pictures — all three kinds of work exhibit to

E E

4i8 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

such a degree the same feeling and quality of line and
mass — that I think the connection between them is
obvious.

The designs for Messrs. Dalziel were nearly all
studies from Nature of the most rigorous kind, but the
cartoons were frequently products of the painter's ex-
perience. They were, too, definitely intended to have
a certain style, or ' look,' if I may use the word. They
were meant 1 to exhibit strength and beauty of line and
effectiveness of composition, and at the same time
to be slightly archaic in appearance — in fact, to be
diametrically opposed in style to pictures like Work.

Madox Brown designed an immense number of
these cartoons, many of them complicated compo-
sitions, others single figures, but all latterly in much

1 A very excellent example of how Madox Brown deliberately forced
himself to adopt a particular style is afforded by the picture of the
death of Sir Tristram. This, as he avows, is intended to imitate, or to
account for, the style of missal illuminations and illustrations. For this
reason the scene is a room with windows on all sides, which provides an
effect of light which might, as 1 have said, account for the entirely
artlessly arrived at lighting of the mediaeval workers.

At the same time, the attitudes and characterisation are as grotesquely
exaggerated as possible. In this case I think the picture is deliberately
and recklessly intended ' to touch the Philistine on the raw/ to use a
phrase then in favour with members of the ' Firm.' The fact is that a
development is quite as observable in Madox Brown's stained-glass
cartoons as in all the rest of his work.

In the early days of his work of this kind he strove to render his
designs ' mediaeval' in appearance, but gradually his sympathy with the
mediaeval i-sts among his friends gave way before the drift of his own
individuality, and his work became once more intensely personal.

If we consider in turn his Sir Tristram, 1864, his King Rene's
Honeymoon of a month later, his St. Oswald series of the year following,
and his St. Anne of 1865, and his Christ Blessing Little Children of 1870
— we see the drift of his work of this kind very plainly.

INFLUENCES AND DEVELOPMENTS 419

the same style. I suppose if I put the number at two
hundred in all I shall not be much over- or under-
estimating it ; this during the twelve years, 1862 to
1874-

The result was that, being continually before his
mind's eye, this peculiar type of figure and style
communicated itself to the larger pictures that he was
executing during the same period. The figures in
such pictures as I Elijah and the Widow s Son, the
Entombment^ or the Cordelia s Portion are obviously
either studied from the cartoons or inspired by exactly
the same spirit. In many cases the cartoons served
as studies for the pictures.

All the works of Madox Brown's third period, as I
will call it, may thus be said to form one great sym-
phony— splendid in all those ' sensuous ' qualities that
he aimed at attaining. It would be difficult to find
a picture more forceful in composition, splendid in
colour, or fervently dramatic, than the Elijah and the
ITidows Son, now in South Kensington, and as much
may be said for the Cordelia s Portion. Yet the
Entombment, with its wonderful interlacing folds, its
rich colour, and its intense fervour, does undoubtedly
surpass both pictures in all three directions ; and the
Romeo and fnlict rises beyond any of them in its
exposition of what Madox Brown delighted to call the
'amorous line.'

Until the day of his death there was not any very
appreciable change of style in his work.

E E 2

420 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

The Manchester frescoes, as it is convenient to
call them, presented an opportunity for decorative
historic work of precisely the kind that now came most
naturally to his hand, and he fully grasped the oppor-
tunity.

The series, as a whole, is undoubtedly distinguished
by unity of decorative conception, which it was at times
no easy matter not to disturb. Speaking of the Crab-
tree panel, Madox Brown frequently said that he was
at first undetermined whether or not to produce a
strong and perfectly legitimately Rembrandt-effect of
lights, as most artists would have done. In the end,
the fear of spoiling the effect of the whole series by a
dark patch at one end of the hall led him to introduce
as much light as he could into the composition, thus
enormously increasing the difficulty of the work.

Each of the pictures gives evidence of to how
great an extent Madox Brown was content to remain
a student of Nature to the end of his life. In very few
of them are there discoverable any of the ' mannerisms'
born of previous study, to which most painters addict
themselves. As far as ' open-air effect ' is concerned,
I should say that few of Madox Brown's pictures
equal the fresco of the Romans, and as much may be
said for the rendering of the complicated cross-lights
of the afore-mentioned Crabtree panel. Even the
unsuccessful Bridgcwatcr Canal picture is in these
respects an advance on many of its predecessors.

The series as a whole, too, is singularly instinct with

IM'LUEXCES AND DEVELOPMENTS 421

Mad ox Brown's personality. In the setting forth of
the subject each of the pictures shows to the full his
naive directness and ingenuity of imagination. They
are full of sympathy with human life — almost Chau-
cerian in that direction — and they abound with
humorous by-play. One might say that Madox Brown's
humorous sense, which in the pictures of the preceding
decade and a half had been rather submerged, once
more appeared on the surface.

In the Romeo and Juliet, the Don Juan, or the
Cordelia s Portion there are none of the touches of
purposely bathetic humour that so strongly distin-
guishes Madox Brown's work. There are no girls
with ducks under their arms to call the Cromwells
from their grim musings to the immediate necessity
of the dinner that waits.

The frescoes, on the other hand, are full of such
episodes. Roman children kick litter-bearers, thurifers
deride each other, pigs upset ferocious warriors, or
children mock great scientists, and seem to utter the
continual ' after all ' of Nature herself.

In his art Madox Brown's attitude towards life was
twofold.

In the conception of his pictures he entirely identi-
fied himself with the hero of the picture, and seemed
to become for the time a grim mystic, a pas-
sionate lover, or an abstracted scientist. But once
the central idea was evolved and embodied, he sym-
pathised with the unsympathetic outer world — the un-

422 LIFE OF FORD MAD OX BROWN

concerned, wondering child of the Entombment, or the
laughing, ignorant cook-maid of the Cromwell on /iis
Farm. Madox Brown himself had, throughout his life,
very much of the ' little child' in his composition. His
attitude towards life was as sincere, as naive, as direct,
and not infrequently as embarrassingly penetrating, as
any child's. In addition to this, he had his dramatic
power and his almost Titanic virility. His work was
never suave, never quite complete ; but it was vigorous
and honest to the end, always instinct with a noble
feeling for style, and within its wide but well-defined
limit as thorough as possible. His incompleteness
was always personal, and that is surely no small
deodand, in an age whose general tendency is towards
mechanical finish and the concealment of the in-
dividual, and which is apt to feel disgusted if a touch
of individuality peep through the veneer that happens
to be in fashion.

It was Madox Brown's misfortune, as it has been
the misfortune of too many a good worker, to antici-
pate the ' psychical moment ' with everything that he
did.

He was inclined to claim that he had started the
' Plein Air' school in France. I do not think that
the claim can be substantiated ; yet, as a mere boy, he
evolved the theory which gave life to that school.

He never claimed to have started the Pre-
Raphaelite Brotherhood, but he certainly did herald

INFLUENCES AND DEVELOPMENTS 423

the movement — played the part of John the Baptist to
it, let us say.

In the same way he anticipated the idea of the
' Arts and Crafts Society.'

During a long life he received little honour, and few
honours, and was in some ways a singularly unlucky
man. But he managed to work on, to do good work,
and, as he quaintly phrased it, ' to go to bed with
both ears on.1

Moreover, he remained to the end of his life young
in his mind, and, that being so, perhaps the gods loved
him after all.

' He has outsoared the shadow of our night ;
Envy, and calumny, and hate, and pain,
And that unrest which men miscall delight,
( 'an touch him not, and torture not again.'

APPENDIX A

MADOX BROWN AS A TEACHER

I.

THE following note with regard to Madox Brown as a teacher,
and his relations with the Working Men's College, has been
kindly furnished me by Mr. J. Phillips Emslie.

' In the evening meeting with which the term opened, Mr.
Ruskin, speaking of the advent of Mr. Brown in succession
to Mr. Rossetti, said that he was equal to him as a painter,
but would probably be superior as a teacher, as he had given
more attention to the teaching than Mr. Rossetti had. We
students became almost immediately aware of the justice of
Mr. Ruskin's remarks, for Mr. Brown's teaching was as sys-
tematic and precise as Mr. Rossetti's had been free. Mr.
Rossetti always objected to students making a firm outline ;
he wished their work to be free. Mr. Brown, on the other
hand, insisted on a firm outline. He has said to me, and I
have often heard him say to others, " Always know exactly
what you mean by every line you draw on the paper ; have a
thorough idea as to which form of the model you intend to
represent by the line you are drawing. Don't scuffle about
with a great number of random lines, as so many do, trusting
to get something out of them by some chance, but be clear
in your own mind and you'll best advance your work."

426 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

' To this end he introduced two old practices which had
never been seen in the class in Rossetti's days. He would
tell the students to hold up a plumb line to see where different
parts of the model fell below each other, and he would also
tell the students to hold out their pencils at arm's length and
measure with the thumb-nail on the pencil the length of the
model's head and compare it with the measurement of the
arm or body taken in a similar manner, so as to get the pro-
portion. These things came rather hard upon students who
had been accustomed to Mr. Rossetti's free style of drawing,
but Mr. Brown not only insisted on his directions being carried
out but would himself work as he had been instructing others
to work, and decisively show a student where his drawing was
wrong by the application of the practices which the student
had neglected. I suppose all of us students have upon some
occasions felt depressed when a drawing, which we flattered
ourselves had a good deal of " go " in it, has been proved, by
the application of the plumb-line and of measurement, to be
wrong both in character and proportion.

' But though a disciplinarian he was no martinet. He would
say that it was of no use to be free without being accurate,
and that students must first learn to make a faithful repre-
sentation of what was before them.

' He took a great personal interest in his pupils, and this,
together with his very genial manner, caused him to be very
much liked by them. He would ask a new student why he
was studying drawing, whether as an accomplishment, with a
view to becoming an artist, as an assistance to his own daily
occupation, &c., and would do his best to assist the student
in the special study of art which the student wished for. I
remember his telling us of a drawing-class at some institution
in Camden Town, in which class was a man (a mason, I think),
whose only object in learning drawing was that he might be
able to draw a lion. A sculptured lion that was (and, for all

APPENDIX A 427

I know, still is) the most prominent statue in the show-yard
of a sculptor and monumental mason in the New (now Mary-
lebone) Road was the special incitement to his ambition, and
Mr. Brown, with much gusto, told us how he was asked by
him, " Can you teach me to be able to draw a lion ? — a lion
like that one in the New Road ? I should so like to be able
to draw a lion like that."

' In October 1859, Mr. Brown made me a pupil-teacher in
his class and had my name placed by the side of his on the
college prospectus. Messrs. Allen and Ward had long been
pupil-teachers under Mr. Ruskin, but Mr. Brown was the first
to have his assistant's name placed on the prospectus beside
his own. His recommendation obtained for me permission to
draw in the sculpture galleries of the British Museum, and he
overlooked and corrected a drawing I made as a candidate
for a probationary studentship at the Royal Academy.

* Mr. Brown several times invited us to his studio when
there was an exhibition of works by himself and friends.
Here we saw the Work while it was in progress, also Lear
and Cordelia, Out of Town, Autumn Afternoon'

II.

I add some extracts from a letter to myself from Madox
Brown's solitary pupil of a later date, Mr. Harold Rath-
bone :

' About this period I used to accompany my father on his
visits to the various studios of our leading painters in his
annual errand of acquiring the best works he could lay his
hand on for the Liverpool Autumn Exhibition (of which, as
you know, he was one of the founders and the chairman) ;
and though many friends used to make interested inquiries
concerning my own progress in art, I was impressed by the

428 LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

fact, which determined me later in adopting Madox Brown
as my master, that it was from him alone that I invariably
received some sensible and practical suggestion, either with
regard to general art training or in relation to some work in
hand, advice which could always advantageously be put at
once into practice. Before taking this step, however, I con-
sulted Sir E. Burne-Jones, who at that time, with a generosity
which has endeared him to other eager students besides my-
self, had kindly consented to look at and criticise my work
from time to time, and he most heartily agreed with the idea,
alluding to his old friend Madox Brown, as I well remember,
as one of the very few real " masters," in the proper signifi-
cance of the word, of the present day, and as one who had
both inherited and developed a most excellent method and
tradition in painting, which might most beneficially be
adopted, until by natural tendencies one formed a style of
one's own. At this time Madox Brown was engaged upon
the first of his famous series of frescoes in the Manchester
Town Hall, and I was, as you are aware, more or less in his
company during the whole of the period he was at work on
this noble municipal commission, and I never knew any man
who combined to a like extent the gift of not being in a hurry
with a greater sense of the true value of time and the necessity
of making the most of opportunity.

' Deliberation and reason in his case effectively prevented
his being unduly carried away by his powerful dramatic gifts
and the romance of poetic sentiment, and it was the rare
combination of these qualities which used to make me think
of Madox Brown, amongst all my circle of acquaintance
of business, professional, or political vocation, as most truly
entitled to the attribute of the " practical " man ; and that
to a degree infinitely beyond the conventional limit which
is usually conveyed by the term. In the same way his
generosity and largeness of heart were brought into fine pro-

APPENDIX A 429

minencc by his abhorrence of waste, either of material or
occasion.

' With regard to opportunity, he possessed a most extra-
ordinary faculty of recognising amongst his immediate circle
of friends the exact type he was in need of to serve as model
for some fresh historic creation, and though comparatively
rarely seeking to introduce an exact likeness, his discriminat-
ing genius would adopt just what he required from the features
so brought into use, to suit the conception at hand.

' His advice tc me as a pupil was precisely that contained
in his early article in the " Germ." Care in selection of a
suitable subject, and a treatment of that subject which would
conclusively manifest itself to the ordinary observer without
further explanation. To be in this respect ever direct and
typical in representation, rather than err on the side of sub-
tlety and obscurity by dwelling unduly upon unimportant
accident. To impart some definite scheme of lighting or effect
to the work, and, in the case of a landscape especially, always
to be on the look-out for some unusual and suggestive effect
rather than the everyday aspect. To choose a subject well
within one's range, and not too complicated in dramatic action
or movement — to make proper and sufficient use of Nature
and scientific laws, but on no account to subordinate detri-
mentally any essential in the artistic conception to some arbi-
trary imposition of scientific doctrine.

' He attributed great importance to the preparatory stages
of an historical work, saying that it always saved time in the
long run to spend a little time in marshalling things into
proper working order at the commencement of any fresh
undertaking. He would then advise the work to be carried
on (as he had done in his own case) in systematic stages from
the earliest record of the idea, which he was ever most
careful not to tamper with, fearing often to lose some faint,
but valuable suggestion which might later be developed, to

430 LIFE OF FORD MADOK BROWN

the cartoon stage, which he made either the required size or
often smaller, in which he included all possible reference to
Nature, so long as she served his purpose and did not assume
any tyrannical attitude with regard to expression, effect,
colour, or disposition of line — which interfered unduly with
his original conceptions.

' As a painter, Madox Brown believed in keeping one's
work in such a condition that it could1 always bear to be
shown in any stage to a person of moderate intelligence, and
he was in the habit of saying, if there was any portion in the
picture which prevented one's being able to do this, that one
should, for the sake of the work as a whole, render that
particular portion sightly with all possible promptitude. He
thought a great deal about brilliance and transparent richness
of colour, in contrast to the heavy and opaque method of
" premier coup" painting which is adopted in France, and to
a very large extent in this country, dwelling upon the necessity
of making one's flesh painting luminous, after the manner of
his favourite models, Rubens, Titian, Etty, and Gainsborough,
or even old William Hunt, or his friend Dante Rossetti,
whom he used to hold up in contradistinction to what he
called the " leather " painters of the latter day. He possessed
endless resource, of a simply scientific and inventive kind, for
getting over any difficulties of costume, in which Mrs. Madox
Brown (without exception the gentlest and sweetest-natured
woman I ever met) most amply assisted him, or the compli-
cations of lighting and effect. Most ample proof of this is to
be found in the fact that the major portion of these frescoes
were painted, with the assistance of Nature in the worst
possible of lights, with equal aptitude, either through the
dense fogs of winter or the conflicting cross lights that
streamed into the hall during the summer months. He was
ever patient in explaining his own reasons for any arrange-
ment of composition or effect, but as a master apt to

APPENDIX A 43I

be annoyed if suggestions made were not absolutely
adopted.

' Taking into consideration the various endowments of my
master, which one might sum up as his epic quality or his
gift of telling a story lucidly, his almost Michael Angelesque
gift of massing figures and the details of composition, his
faculty of line (which was developed through his admiration
of Raphael), his immense knowledge and gift of depicting
type, his mastery of costume and aesthetic invention of orna-
ment, the luminosity and depth of his colour, united to a
remarkable degree of dramatic force and poetic intensity, I
began, after a time, to think of Madox Brown on account of
these universal qualities on the same high plane that is occu-
pied when pondering of such creative giants as Shakespeare,
Homer, Dante, or Hogarth, on account of his astounding
invention allied to a wealth and rarity of the truths of Nature ;
and despite his occasional eccentricities of manner I constantly
think of him in this light, believing him, with everything that
can be advanced against him by those who are out of
sympathy with his style, to be one of the great English
masters of painting of the present generation. Whatever
artistic and practical success I have had with the Delia
Robbia pottery which has been lately started I attribute
mainly to his influence, and I consider it constantly a duty
to hand on those traditions to my pupils.'

432

MAD OX BROWN

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APPENDIX C

CATALOGUE1 OF SOME OF MADOX BROWN'S DESIGNS
FOR STAINED GLASS

KXHCT'I 'I-;!) i'.Y MORRIS AM) CO.

1862

Design for Crucifixion.
,, ,, Nativity.
,, ,, Archangels Uriel

Michael.

,. St. J/rt/-X-(May 31).
,, ,, Gideon (June 14).
Cartoon for .Adam (June 15).

and

Design for Christ and Little Children

(Cartoon, October)
,, ,, SS. Jerome and Jolin, for

Pulpit (August 25).
,, Death of Sir Tristram (Sep-

tember).

,, ,, Nativity (November 2).
,, ,, Lady with Hawk, for tiles

(November 17).
,, ,, Cutting Trees Down, for

tiles.

,, ,, Sowing, for tiles.
,, ,, Sheep-shearing, for tiles.

1863

Designs for Ahrain (March).
,, ,, Isaac (March).
,, ,, SS. Paul, Elizabeth, John
and Matthew, at Brad-
ford (June).

1864

Design for St. Martin and Beggar,
Sf. Martin in Heaven, at
St. Mark's Church, Scar-
borough (February).

,, ,, Adam and Noah (March).

,, ,, Constant ine (March).

,, ,, St. Helena (March).

,, ,, Charlemagne (March).

,, 11 St. Louis (March).

,, Alfred the Great ( March).

,, ,, Edward (Jie Confessor
(March).

,, ,, Paeda, King of Mercia
(March).

1 This is by no means a complete list of Madox Brown's cartoons. Four out
of half a do/en cartoons in my possession a (iray writing his Elegy, a Martha, a
very fine St. Andrew, and an Escape of /' t< /- are not numbered among those
mentioned above, and I have no doubt that others exist in various quarters. The
catalogue is, however, extracted from Madox Brown's account with Morris & Co.,
and should be complete.

446

LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

Design for Ethelbert, King
(April).

,, ,, Christ and Disciples in a
Ship in a Storm (August).

,, ,, Christ and Peter on the

Sea (August).

,, i. Baptism of St. Oswald,
St. Oswald's Church,
Durham (September).

,, ,,2. Coronation of St. Oswald,
St. Oswald's Church,
Durham (September).

,, ,, 3. St. Oswald kills Cad-
wallader, St. Oswald's
Church, Durham (Dec.)

of Kent j Design for Finding of Moses.

,, ,, SS. Luke and Peter.
,, , , Good Shepherd.

1870

Design for Feed my Sheep (September).

,, ,, Homer (October).

,, ,, Newton (October).

,, ,, Roger Bacon (October).

,, ,, Aristotle (November).

,, ,, Queen Eleanor ( November).

, , , , Lord Bacon ( Nove m ber ) .

,, ,, Cicero (November).

1865

Design for 4. St. Oswald sends out
Missionaries to Scotland,
St. Oswald's Church,
Durham (January).

,, ,,5. Death of St. Oswald, St.
Oswald's Church, Dur-
ham (June).

,, ,,6. Enshrining of St.
Oswald, St. Oswald's
Church, Durham (Aug.).

1866

Design for David and Goliath (First).
,, ,, Early English Bishop.
,, ,, Cain and Abel.
,, ,, Melchiscdec.
,, ,, Zachariah.

1868

Dvsign for St. Ann, .
,, ,, Nehemiah.

1869

Design for Edward I.
,, ,, Bishop of Ely.
,, ,, Expulsion from Garden of

Eden.

,, ,, Samuel and Eli.
,, ,, Burning Bush.

1871

Design for St. Ethcldreda (May).
,, ,, Hugo de Balsham (May).
, , , , Incredulity of Thorn a s ( N < > v . )
,, ,, Bishop Cosin (December).
,, ,, Whitgift (December).
,, ,, Supper at Em mans (Dec. )

1872

Design for Christ bearing Cross (fan.)
,, ,, Isaac bearing Wood (Jan.)
,, ,, Crashaw (January).
,, ,, The Brazen Serpent ( March).
,, ,, Zachariah (May).
,, ,, El kan ah (May).
,, „ Hannah (May).
,, ,, Philip the Deacon (Muy).
,, ,, Cavendish (May)
,, ,, Cardinal Beaufort (July).
,, ,, ll'arkworth (July).
,, ,, Solomon building Temple

(August).

,, ,, Holbrook (August).
,, ,, The Scourging at the Pillar

(August).
,, ,, The Agony in ///<• Garden

(August).
,, ,, Darid ant Goliath, Jesus

College (November 2).
,, ,, Young Milton and .SyV;/.w ; ,

Peterhouse.

APPENDIX C

447

1873

12 Cartoons for Tarmvorth (April) :

A'ifiir At heist anc v

\ Afterwards
Edith

. worked upon and
Sistng. King <•/ - ,1,17- >

*J called the /
Northumbria \ . . -.,..,
of St. Edith,
Bishop

'•.illy.

William the Conqueror.
Munition.
Mannion Asleep.
Ktli '/i wit Ji Nimbus.
Taiir^'orth Castle, &C.
Design for Simeon, Knaresboro' (May).
,, ,, Anne Prophesying^ Knares-

horo' (May).

,, E!>-Mheth Woodville,

Ouecns' C'ollege, Cam-
bridge (June).

Design for Queen Margaret, Queens'
College, Cambridge

(June).

,, ,, Christ healing IVomen
(August).

,, ,, Gray (August).

1874

Design for Jtide, Llandaff (April).

,, ,, Simon, Llandaff (April).

,, ,, Shipwreck of Paul, Llan-
daff (April)

,, ,, Miraculous Draught of

Fishes, Llandaff (April).
,, Duke of Graf ton (July).

,, ,, Noli me Tangere, Jesus
College (July).

,, ,, Incredulity of Thomas,
Jesus College (July).

A very fairly representative set of Madox Brown's stained-glass
cartoons, most excellently reproduced, has been published by Mr. Harold
Rathbone, through the Autotype Company, of New Oxford Street.

" ROMEO AND JULIET." 1876.
(From an autotype reproduction.)

DESIGN i ok STAINED-GLASS, "THE TRANSFIGURATION." 1857.

(Fiom the oii»i>tal tn possession of Messrs. Powell & Co )

SKETCHES AND STUDIES. Paris, 1844.

(From original in possession of Mr. Fairfax Murray.)

1

FIRST SKETCH FOR "CHAUCER." iS-ts-

(From original in /'(^st'.ss/cw «/ A/r. Fairfax f~Miin\iv.)

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STUDY FOR "WICKLIFFE." 1847.

(From original in pmscssioH offtfr. Fairfax Mttrniv.')

STUDY. 1847.

(From original in possession of €Mr. Fairfax [Murray.)

£ .«

STUDY FOR " LAST OF ENGLAND." 1852.

(From original in possession of Mr. Fairfax Murray)

UNFINISHED PAINTING: "TAKE YOUR SON, SIR." 1857.

(Fniiii original in possession of Mr. Harold Riitl:hi>iic.)

"CHRIST BI.I:SSING urn. i- CHII.DI/I.N." 1862.

e scncs of rcproJiictKiin; p

; publixbcJ hv Mr. -I^it/.'l'nnc. RcpnnfuccJ from a "Firm," or
in^ <•<>/>)• o/ A/ii./nv liioicii's cartoon.)

THE ARCHANGELS URIEL AND MICHAEL. 1862.

(From Mr. Harold Ratbbonc's scries of ri-f>roJtiitions of 'stained-glass cartoons.)

INDEX

. \rn.k DARK, Lord (Bruce), 277
Academy, The Royal, 24, 27, 49, 51,
62, 69, 73, 84, 86, 93, in, 125,
144, 158, 169, 179, 1 88, 280, 309,

358, 363, 364
'Address to the Vice-Chancellor

of Cambridge,' 277, 278
Aix, 40

Alderley Edge, 333
'Alice in Wonderland,' 261
Allingham, W., 126
America, 83, 145, 365
Anthony, Mark, 65, 77, 91, 109, 1 19,

179, 215, 244, 276
Antwerp, 15, 18-24, 25, 405
Antwerp Academy, 20, 24
' Arethusa, The,' 9
Armitage, Edwin, 28, 38
Armstrong, E., 365
'Art Journal,' 35
'Arts and Crafts Society,' 377
'Athemeum, The,' 24, 49, 50, 76,

in, i So

II. V., 241
Bale, 40, 41
Balzac, H. de, 228
Barber, Burton, 57
Bartolozzi, 13
Beddoes, Dr., 6
Berwickshire, 2

Beyle, H., 228
Birchington, 364

Birmingham and Midland Insti-
tute, 282, 290, 323
Bizet's ' Carmen,' 324
Blackmore, Mary, 268
Blake, W., 7, 34,' 346

— Ciilchrist's Life of, 346

Blind, Miss M., 241, 267,268, 307,
317, 342, 354, 365, 378, 380, 386,
390, 395> 397, 4oo

— ' Dramas in Miniature,' 386
Boddington, H., 28, 380, 385
Bologna, 40

Booth, ' I'uggy,' 103
Boyce, G. P., 123, 276
Brett, J., 317
Bristol, 84

Brown, Catherine Madox (see
Hueffer, Mrs.)

— Eliza Coffin, 10, 20, 27

Mrs. Eliz. Madox, 26, 27, 37,
46

— Mrs. Emma Madox, 59 ct scq.

to 393 (<£)

— Ford (sen.), i, 9, 10, 24

- Mrs. Ford (sen.), 9, 20 24

— Ford Madox, Works of:
Adam <md Ei>c, 33, 408

of Edwin, 323, 327, 328,
329, 330

G G

45°

LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

Brown, Ford Madox, Works of—

(continued)

Beauty before she became ac-
quainted ivith the Beast, 57, 98

Blind Beggar and his Child, 1 5, 19 !

Bradshaw's Defence of Manches-
ter, 388

Bridgeivater Canal, 387, 388, 394,
421

Byroris Dream (Byron and Mary
Chaworth), 281, 292, 298, 299,
300, 384

Chetham's Life Dream, 369, 371,
372, 385

Chaucer at the Court of Edward
III., 41, 42, 43, 49, 62, 63, 67,
68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 76, 98,
in, 158, 232, 234, 306, 307,
359,409, 411,412

Christ Washing Peter's Feet, 80,
81, 82, 85, 1 10, 130, 132, 134,
141, 146, 151, 152, 153, 154,
156, 159, 160, 306, 395, 413

Coat of Many Colours, 197, 204,
205, 206, 207, 208, 213, 214,
221,232,234,247

Colonel Kirke, 20

Convalescent, 271, 281

Cordelia at the Bedside of Lear,

55, 56, 57, 58,97, ii4,4n
Cordelia 's Portion, 197, 207, 221,

222, 223, 232, 420, 422
Corsair's Return, the, 255, 262
Crabtree watching the Transit of

Venus, 349, 353, 360, 361, 421
Cromwell on his Farm [St. Ives],

92, 93, 94, 107, 1 1 6, 117, 122,

141, 281, 282, 290, 291, 292, 301,

307, 315,413, 415, 423
— Protector of the Vaudois, 311, (

312, 313, 323,417,418
J)<ilton collecting Marsh Gas,

374, 378, 379, 38o

Brown, Ford Madox, Works of —

(continued]
Death of Sir Tristram, 197, 200,

419

Domestique qui rit, \ 9
Don Juan, 245, 246, 255, 272,

281, 323, 422
Down Stream, 263, 264
Ehud and Eglon, 197, 204, 205
Elijah and the Widow's Son, 197,

201, 234, 420
Elizabeth at the Deathbed of the

Countess of Nottingham, 19
English Autumn Afternoon, 82,

83, 97, 1 80, 413
English Boy, the, 168
Entombment, the, 221, 232, 234,

247, 262, 417, 420, 423
Expulsion of the Danes from

Manchester, the, 339, 347, 348,

349
Flamand voyant passer le Due

dAlbe, 19
Flemish Fish Wife, Head of,

15

- Weavers, the \Philippa visit-
ing her Flemish Weavers at
Manchester}, 349, 3 5 2, 353
Friday of the Poor, 19
Giaour's Confession, 24, 26, 51
Harold at Hastings, 33, 34, 35,

408
Hampstead from my Window,

157

PI ay field, the, 101, 114, 133
Infanfs Repast, 57,84
Irish Girl, the, J 68
Jacopo Foscari, 245, 246, 281
Job among t/ie Ashes, 19
Kay saved from the Rioters, 384,

^385, 386
King Rene's Jloneymoon, 199,

419

INDEX

45'

Brown, Ford Madox, Works of —

(continued}

Last of England, 32, 91, 92, 94,
96, 97, 98, loo, 1 10, 1 60, 169,

413, 414
Lear, King, Sketches for 16

designs from, 37
I 'art ing of Cordelia and her

sisters, 74, 98

Manchester Exhibition Decora-
tions, 375, 377, 378
Manfred on the Jungfrau, 28, 29,

407
Marv Queen of Scots, Execution

of, 26, 51,405
Mauvais Sujet, 184
3 fay Memories, 255, 366
Nosegay, the, 207, 208, 209, 213,

214, 215

On the 11 rent near Hendon, 101
Cure Ladye of Good Children

[Saturday Night], 48, 49, 51,

68, 157, 172, 207, 223
Parisina's Sleep, 29, 30, 51, 407
Phryne and Apellcs, 263, 306
Platt Lane, 366, 367
Portraits :

Allot, Joseph, 292

Bamford, Mr., 48, 49, 409, 410

Blind, Miss M. [pastel], 307

lioddington (iroup, ySo, 384,

385 "

liromley, Augustus, 37
— Helen, 37
lirown, Eliza Coffin, 14
- Ford, 14

Madox [< Himself], 313,

314

— Lucy Madox, 57

— Oliver Madox [2 etchings],
301

Davis, Mr. and Mrs. IX, 290
Fawcett, Prof, and Mrs., 271

Brown, Ford Madox, Works of—

(continued}
H alii day, — , 23
Pendleton, Rev., 23
Pyne, Mrs. Kendrick (pastel),

350

Riches, T. O., 292
Robinson, Miss Mary (pastel),

350

Rossetti, Helen, 369
— Mrs. W. M., and daughter

(pastel), 307
Rowley, Chas., 369
Seddon, Thomas, 57
Shakespeare, William, 57, 68,

73
Pretty Baa Lambs, 74, 83, 84,

141, 160, 413
Prisoner of Chilian ( i ), 30

— (2) on Wood, 118, 121, 130,
156

Romans building Manchester,

the, 338, 339,421
Romeo and Juliet, 228, 229, 230,

231, 247, 255, 263, 395, 417,

420, 422

Rose de r Infante, La, 307
Rossetti Headstone, Design for,

369

— Memorial, 369, 375

R H he us Ride, 300, 301, 306
Sard/inapalus' Dream, 255, 262,

272, 281

Scrap/is' Watch, the, 43, 52, 57
Shorn Ridgway, View from, 57
Showing the Way, 15
Spirit of Justice, 33, 35, 51, 73,

4c8
Stages of Cruelly, 107, 113, 1 29,

154, 169, 385, 413
St. I-vcs (see Cromwell on his

Farm)
Supper at E/iunaits, 306

G G 2

452

LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

Brown, Ford Madox, Works of —

(continued}

Take your Son, Sir, 74, 142, 169
Telfs Son, 311, 384
Transfiguration, the, 142, 148
Traveller, the, 160, 229, 230, 234,

366

Waiting [English Fireside], 98
Walton-on-the-Naze, 160
Weights and Measures, 349, 361,

366, 385
Wickliffe on his Trial, 366, 367,

369, 372, 373, 374, 389, 395

— reading his Translation of
the Bible to John of Gaunt, 49,
50, 84, 86, 1 60, 411

Wilhelmus Conquistator, 34, 172,
174, 1 80

Windermere Lithograph, 92, 98,
207

Work, 82, 88, 90, 91, 94, 96, 106,
in, 113, 142, 148, 152, 153,
154, 155, 156, 163, 164, 165,
173, !75> 176, 183, 189, 190,
191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196,
197, 209, 227, 370, 413, 414,

415
Brown, Dr. John, i-io, 13, 257

— Lucy Madox (see Rossetti, Mrs.
W. M.)

Brown, Oliver Madox, 149, 168,
1 88, 219, 220, 238, 243, 244, 250,
252-256, 259, 261, 267, 276, 280,
285,293-297,301,354,355,398

— ' Dwale Bluth,' 301

- 'Gabriel Denver,' 285

Brown, O. M., Ingram's Life of, 363

- William Cullen, 6, 8, 9
Bruges, 14

Brummell, Beau, 10, 1 1
Brussels, 40, 48
Buchanan, R., 272

' Fleshly School of Poetry,' 272

' Bullion, Thomas,' 217
Burne-Jones, Sir E., 147, 153, 158,

162, 171, 177, 203, 215, 236, 239,

244, 276, 316, 355

— Merciful Knight, 203
Byron, Lord, 30, 31, 298, 299

CAINE, T. HALL, 340, 345, 346
Calais, i, 10, 11, 13, 20, 21, 234
Calderon, P. H., 250
Cambridge, 128
Campbell, A., 171
Cardiff, 118

Carlyle, T., 94, 112, 127, 131, 135,
139, 153, 163-165, 195, 196

— ' Past and Present,' 195, 332
Gary, F. S., 79

Casey, D., 16, 17, 25, 26, 28, 29, 47

49, 88, 93, 95, 357, 358, 376
Cayley, C. B., 81, 310, 349
Chamier, Capt., 9
Chapel-en-le-Frith, 342
Chapman, G. F., 216
Charlotte Street, 50
Chaucer, *2, 305, 306
ChaworthjrMary, 298, 299
Cheapside, 48
Chelsea, 103
Chesneau, E., 358
Cheyne Walk, 209, 261
' Christie's,' 101
Civita Vecchia, 46
Clipstone Street, 49 ct scq.
Coffin, Sir Isaac, 13
Collins, C., 77, 87
Colvin, S.," 276
Compton, Earl, 38
Conway, Moncure, 398
Cope, F., 78, 411
Copland, Dr., 8
Cornelius, 35, 44
Correggio, 13
Cottier, C., 364

INDEX

453

Cotton Famine, The, 184

Cox, David, 280

Craven, F., 207, 214, 228, 243, 245,

252, 253, 262-264, 266, 268, 269,

280, 3i5,3i6, 343, 3*>2
Cray ford Farm, 23
Creighton, Dr., 9
Cremorne, 103
Creswick, T., 65
Cromwell, Oliver, 94, 126 et scq.,

3H-3f3

Cross, John, 28,38, 71, 125
Crowe and Cavalcaselle, 40, 41
Cruickshank, 3

G.,38

Crumpsal, 350 ct scq.
Crystal Palace, 122
Cullen, Dr., 5

'DAILY C.kAi'Hic,' 393

Dalziel Bros., &c., 118, 122, 130,

197, 221
Damascus, 93
Dante, 42, 237
' Dark Blue,' 263,264
David, 14, 15, 46, 404
Davis, \V., 125, 137, 159, 170, 171,

186, 187, 198, 203, 224,225,283
Delacroix, E., 407, 408
Delaroche, P., 407, 408
Derby, Earl, 336
Deverell, \V., 72, 75, 81, 87, 136
Dickinson, Lowes, 55, 58, 62, 69,

7i, 73, 75, 89, 109, 114, 117, 118,

120, 150, 152, 185, 247, 252

- Robert, 55, 58, 62, 69, 106, 114,

121, 126

4 Dictionary of National Biography,'

' Dictionnaire Universelle Biogra-

phique,' 7
Dilke, Sir C., 271, 273, 357

Dinan, 88

Dixon, T., 165

Dombinsky, Capt., 23

Dresden, 18

Dublin, 84

Dumas, A., 31, 32

Dunn, H. T., 274, 276, 280

Dunse School, 3

Dyce, W., 30, 65, 77, 78, 403, 410,

E ASTLAKK, Sir C., 78, 410, 411
Edinburgh, 4, 302

v. I.., 65, 78, 179, 216

Egypt, 95, 99
Ellis, F. S., 258, 259
Emerson's 'English Traits,' 136
Emslie, J. P., 159, 425, 426, 427
' Encyclopedia Britannica,' 8
Eulenspiegel, Till, 31
l^.v/iibitions :

Berlin (1891), 395

Chicago (i 892), 395

Deschamps', 314

DowcleswelFs, 385

Dudley Gallery, 232, 250

Edinburgh, 169, 178, 197

- ' Free,' 49

Hogarth Club, 159, 178

International, London (1852), 98

Paris (1853), 98
„ London (1862),

178, 185, 186, 187
International, Manchester (1857),

145, M6, 153, 155
Jubilee, Manchester (1887), 374,

378

Lc-cds, 235
Madox Brown's, at Piccadilly

(1865), 209 et scq.
Manchester Academy, 247, 257
k Rejected Pictures,' 198

454

LIFE OF FOED MADOX BROWN

Exhibitions — (continued')
Russell Place, 143, 152
Sketches, 68

FALKNER, C., 238
Faubourg Broussel, 47
Fawcett, H., 273
Finchley, 98 et seq.
Fitzroy Square, 218 et seq.
Flandrin, H., 357
Florence, 40
Foot's Cray, 26
Fortess Terrace, ii^et scq.
Fra Angelico, 41
' Fraser,' 212
Frederick the Great, 6
Frith, W. P., 77, 78, 218, 363

GAMBART, E., 174, 216, 217, 224,

225, 233

Gambetta, L., 357
' Gambier Parry Process,' 326, 335,

337

Garnett, E., 385
- R., 241, 383
Garrick Club, 218, 248
Gautier, T., 357
Geneva, 48

' Germ, The,' 75, 76, 98, 429
Ghent, 14, 19, 23
Gilbert, Sir J., 118
Gilchrist, H., 346
Gilderoy, R., 316
Gillum, Major, 169, 186, 196
Giotto, 41, 122
Gladstone, W. E., 211, 380
Glasgow, 364
Godwin, E., 214
Goodall, F., 78
Gosse, E., 322
Gottingen, 7
Grant, Sir F., 84, 85, 279

Gregorius, Prof., 14
Grouckel, De, 28, 48
Grove Villas, 98 et seq.

HAKE, Dr., 233, 269, 272, 273, 274
— George, 272

Halliday, H., 119, 132, 149

Halswelle, K., 247

Hamerton, P. G., 358

Hampstead, 60, 61, 83, 87, 88, 93

Hannay, David, 87, 91

Hanselaer, Van, 14

Hardy, Sir D., 239

Hastings, 87, 258

Haydon, B., 35, 410, 411

Hendon, 101 et seq.

Herbert, J. P., 65, 78

- Miss, 118
i Herne Bay, 3 1 8, 319, 320, 321

Heron, Sir J., 336

Hey wood, Aid., 333, 341

Hill, Emma (see Mrs. Emma Madox
Brown)

' Hobby Horse, The,' 393

Hogarth Club, 158, 161, 182

Hogarth, Wm., 264, 284

Holbein, Hans, 41, 409

Holding, C., 275, 276

Holland, 303, 304, 305

Hook, J. C., 125

Home, R. H., 214

Horsley, J. C., 78

* Hotel du Pot d'Etain,' 16

Houghton, A. B., 241

Howard, F., 38

Howell, C. A., 214, 239, 243, 286,
287, 288

Huefifer, Mrs. Catherine, 98, 113,
118, 160, 167, 181, 214, 219, 238,
250, 252, 253, 267, 276, 280, 293,
294, 304, 305, 336, 343, 363, 367,
392

INDEX

455

Hueffer, Dr. (Hiiffer, Franz), 234,
241, 267, 269, 276, 304, 310, 319,
324, 343, 393
Miss, 366
- O., 349

Hughes, Arthur, 69, 203, 215,216,
237, 243, 253, 276
E. R, 276

Hugo, V.. 31, 296, 307
Hume's ' History of England,3 33
Hunt, Alfred, 171, 249

\\ illiam, 410

— \V. Holman, 52, 54, 63, 64, 65,
73, 75, 77, 81, 85, 86, 87, 90, 93, 99,

109, IIO, Il8, 119, 120, 122, 125,

130, 131, 132, 136, 145, 153, 155,

161, i6.|, 174, 181, 198, 210, 214,
216, 276, 355, 395

- Christ in tJie Temple, 1 20,

174, 210

LantJiorn Maker, 120, 132

- Scapegoat, 130

— ShadoiJ of the Cross, 370
7*7177 Gentlemen of Verona,

76, 77, 86

— Haunted Manor, 144
Huntingdon, 126 et seq.

ICELAND, 83

Inchbold, J. T., 203, 317
Ingram, J. H., 363
Ingres, 357, 407
Institution, British, 30
lonides, L., 204, 239
Ireland, A., 358
Irving, Sir H., 388
Italy, 39 47

JA.MKS, M., 28, 48
Jcrrold, Douglas, 38, 39
Jerusalem, 99
Jones, William, 20
Jo\vctt, Prof., 303

KAY, John, 7

* Edinburgh Portraits,' 7

Kelmscott, 268, 280
Kin^\ Bench, 7
Kingnley, Charles, 112
Kirby, Miss C., 365, 367
Kirke, Col., 20
Knewstub, W. J., 317, 377
Knight, Jos., 274

' LAI'CUS,' 257, 258

Landseer, Sir E., 78

Leatherhead, 181

Leathart, J., 162, 172, 180, 183, 186,

197, 229, 232, 255, 324
Leghorn, 46
Legros, A., 214
Leighton, Sir F., 125, 355

Triui)iph of Music, 125

- John, 38, 223, 40^

' Lyra Germanica,' 223

Leon, E., 261

Leyland, F. R., 232, 233, 243, 272,

280, 325

Lindsay, Sir C., 344
Linnell, W., 77, 78, 137
Lintlaws, 2
Lionarclo da Vinci, 41
Liverpool, 136 ct seq.
Llandaff, 118
Llangollcn, 12
Longfellow, H. W., 75
Louis Philippe, 30
Louvre, The, 28, 29
Lucy, C., 38, 62, 75, 90
Luini, 41

Lushington, Y., 101, in
Luxembourg, The, 232, 395
Luxemburg, (".. I)., 22
Lynmouth, 266, 267, 268

MACAULAY, LORD, 126

Maclise, D., 65, 77, 78, 280, 410, 41 1

456

LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

Madoc, Prince, 9
Madox, Caroline, 9, 20 24
— James, 20, 23, 26
— Tristram, 23
Marochetti, Baron, 151, 187
Marseilles, 46

Marshall, John, 38, 71, 91, 93,
94, 109, 119, 140, 155, 239, 294,

319

-P. P., 171, 177,214
Marston, Miss E., 324

- P. B., 241

- Dr. W., 239

Martineau, R. B., 152, 197, 215, 239

Marvell, Andrew, 304, 312

Marzials, Theo., 241

Masaccio, 41

Matlock, 324,325

Matthews, C, 95

Maurice, F. D., 151, 152, 153, 155,

195, 198
Mazzini, 241

McCracken, F., 68, 84, 85, 93, 101
Meopham, 26, 37, 48
Meredith, George, 182
Michel Angelo, 41

— Archers, 344

— Grimm's Life of, 285, 344
Millais, Sir J. E., 65, 73, 76, 77, 78,

79, 86, 87,90, 109, in, 118, 120,
121, 122, 123, 125, 144, 153, 218,
355, 410, 411

— A utumn Leaves, 1 20

- Wind Girl, 1 1 1, 120

— Carpenter's Shop, 79
Convent Thoughts, 77

— Huguenots, 86

— Lorenzo and Isabella, 65

— Rescue, 1 1 1

— Return of the Dove to tJie
Ark, 77

- Wedding Cards, 144
Wood man! s Daughter, 77

Miller, Joaquin, 288
- Peter, 126, 137, 138, 143, 150,
151, 166

Milner, J., 323, 338

Milton,]., 311, 312, 313, 315, 316

Modena, 40

Monmouth, Duke of, 20

Moore, Albert, 203

More, Antonio, 305

Morris, W., 133, 147, 153, 158, 166,
175, 180, 181, 203, 215, 216, 236,
237, 238, 253,267,268,269, 281,

395

— Earthly Paradise, 253

— Tristram and I suit, 175
Morris, Marshall, Falkner & Co.,

161, 177, 183, 1 88, 215, 232, 252
Moulton, Mrs. L. C., 324
Mount's Bay, 317
Moxon's ' Poets,' 121, 245, 255
Mullins, Miss M., 365
Mulready, W., 65, 77, 137
Mundella, A. J., 362
Munro, A., 69, 151, 155
Murray, C. Fairfax, 61
Murray's Handbook (Italy), 46

NAPOLEON I., 8
Napoleon III., 88
National Gallery, 395
Newcastle, 162, 166, 302
Newman Street, 60, 67 et seg.
Newstead Abbey, 299
Nicholson, Sir C., 108
North London School of Design,
68,78,79, H7

' ONCE A WEEK,' 233
Orcagna, 41, 63
O'Shaughnessy, A., 241
Overbeck, 44, 45
Owens College, 323
Oxford, 147, 148

INDEX

457

Oxford Museum (Woodward's), 147

Union Club, 147, 153
'Oxford and Cambridge Magazine,'
101

PALKSTIXK, 93

Palgrave, F. T., 187

Paris, 25 37, 46, 88, 1 14

Patmore, C., 126

Paton, Sir X., 355

Pavia, 7

Pe- -well May, £9

Pendleton, Rev., 17, 23

Penkill, 241

Peru, 13

Pettigrew's ' Physicians of Emi-
nence,' 8

Pimvell, F., 211, 241, 314

Pisa, 41, 63

Pitti Palace, 41

Pizarro, 13

Plint, T., 101, 111,112, 141, 146,
153, 156, 162, 166, 172, 173, 174,
175, 1 80, 203

Poole, R., 78

Powell & Co., 142, 148, 177

Poynter, E. J., 250, 355

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (Ger-
man , 43 45

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, &c.
(English), 49, 55, 59-67, 73, 76,
77, 88, 109, no, 113, 142, 143,
144, 158, 227

Preston, 2

Prince Consort, The, 36

Prinsep, Val, 166, 182, 215,216,
236, 241

QUILTER, H., 44, 390
' Preferences,' &c., 390

RAE, G., 40, 180, 181, 186, 197, 198,
207, 208, 215, 216, 217, 224, 225,
236, 243, 253, 280, 295, 301

Raphael, 13, 37, 41

Rathbone, H. S., 374, 417 ct seq.

Red Lion Square, 75

Rembrandt, 28,29

Rhine, The, 40

Riviera, 39

Robertson, Forbes (sen.), 290, 29 ir
292

Robinson, Miss M., 350

Rome, 39 -46, 62

Rose, J. A., 182

Rossetti, Christina, 65, 81, 131,
239, 241

Rossetti, D. G., 31, 49-56, 68, 6g>
75, 77, 79, 81, 87, 88, 90, 91,
93,94, 95, 98, 99, 112, 113, i'5>
117, 1 1 8, 119, 120-126, 132 136
140, 141, 147, 148, 150, 151, 153,
159, 165, 166, 171, 181, 182, 204,
209, 214,215,216, 218, 225 228,
237, 238, 241, 242, 243, 253, 257,
258, 259, 260, 261, 263, 264, 268,
269, 270, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276,
277, 278, 281, 283, 284, 285, 286,
288, 289, 294, 302, 305, 315, 318,
319, 320, 321, 325, 334, 344, 345,
346, 361, 363, 364, 399

Annunciation, 86

- JUuc /A'uvr, 216, 217
- AV/V/f, 215

— Dante's Dream, 258, 259

—: Found, 99

— Paolo and Francesca^ 121

— St. Cecilia, 141

— Poems :

' Down Stream,' 263, 264

' Italian Poets,' 259

' King's Tragedy,' 351

Poems (1871), 258 ct -v(v/.

' Rosemary,' 269

' White Ship, The,' 345
Rossetti, Mrs. I). G. (see Siddall)
— Mrs. W. M., 43, 114, 117, 131,

LIFE OF FORD MADOX BROWN

153, 172, 203,214, 219, 238, 250,

252, 253, 267, 276, 292, 304, 307, !

324, 344, 346, 363, 393, 397
Rossetti, Miss O. F., 307

- Miss Mary, 366

- Miss H., 369

- W. M., 20, 41, 50-56, 65,
70, 71, 81,87, in, 114, 117, 118,
119, 130, 139, 140, 148, 149, 157,
169, 177, 182, 212, 227,228, 234,
245, 267, 273, 274, 276, 284, 292,
305, 317, 325, 342, 346

— 4 Fine Art, Chiefly Contem-
porary,' 284

Rossetti Memorial, The, 366, 368, !
375, 38o

* Rouge et le Noir, Le,' Stendahl,

228

Rowley, Charles, 302, 307, 309, 310,
315,316, 322, 324^337, 341, 343,

359, 369

Rue des Peignes (Antwerp), 16
Rue Marche au Lait, 2 1
Ruskin, John, 78, 114, 118, 123,

144, 150, 151, 152, 159, 285, 287,

319
Russell, LordJ., 106, 124, 126

SALON, The, 30
Sandys, F., 182

* Sass's,' 79

' Saturday Review,' 2 1 2

Scott, C. P., 358, 361, 362

Scott, Sir W., 8

Scott, W. B., 78, 115, 129, 166, 1 8 1,

242, 272, 332
Seddon, J. P., 79, 87, 97, 109, 114,

151, 237, 239

- Thomas, 57, 79, 87, 88, 89, 90,
93, 99, 120, 122, 131, 132, 133,
149 et scq., 206, 210

Sevastopol, 1 17
Sheffield, G., 335

Shelley, P. B., 94, 266, 267, 268

Shields, F., 146, 207, 238, 242, 243,

250, 253, 257, 258, 264, 270, 272,

273, 274, 276, 294, 301, 302, 303,

307, 308, 310, 313, 315, 316, 320,

321, 322, 330,333,334,335,337,

343, 346, 350, 355, 356, 361, 362,

363, 365, 368, 374, 376, 381, 39i,

393, 395, 396

Eaton Hall, Stained Glass at,

343, 344
— Hide, 252

Solomon Eagle, 252

Siddall, Miss E., 113, 123, 124, 150,

151, 181, 188
Skelton's 'Table-Talk of Shirley,'

124

Slade Professorship, 276 et seq.
Slepe Hall, 126
Smetham, J., 270, 288
Snoox, Athanasius, 194, 196
South London School of Art, 35
Southend, 48
Spartali, Miss M., 204, 214, 253,

267, 307
' Spectator,' 84
Stanhope, S., 165, 216
Stanley, E., 84
St. Edmund's Terrace, 382, 390

etseq.

St. Helena, 8
Stephens, F. G., 65, 81, 87, 109,

119, 214, 237, 241, 250, 317, 357,

395

Sterling, John, 155
Stillman (Mrs.) (see Spartali, Miss)
St. Ives, 126 et seq.
Stockwell, 74
Stone, Frank, 78, 85, 180
Stratford-on-Avon, 57, 59
Swinburne, A. C., 147, 210, 214,

241, 258, 270, 303, 344
Sydney Art Gallery, 240, 307, 359

INDEX

459

TAYLOR, Thomas, 95, 224, 309

Tebbs, H. V, 215

Tenniel, Sir J., 38

Tennyson, Lord Alfred, 118, 121,

258

Thierry, Auguste, 33
Thomas, W. Cave, 53, 55, 62, 78,

90,91, 109, 119, 125, 151, 1 66,

214, 39i
Tintoretto, 340
Titian, 44, 285
Tonge, 137

Tourgeneff, J., 241, 319
Tudor Lodge, 37, 38
Turner, J. M. W., 65, 102, 104, 128,

237, 406
'Twain, Mark,' 241

'UXIVKRSAL RKVIKW,' 45
Upton, 1 80, 216

IA, 85

\randerhelst, 305

Vandermeer, 305

Vandyke, 305

Vasari, 340

Vaudois, The, 311, 312, 313

Venice, 41

Victoria Park -''Manchester), 364 ct

seq.

' Vingt, Soc. de*;' 392
Volunteers, Artists' Camp, 166
Von Hoist, 51

WALKS, 9, 12

\\;ilc.s, Prince of, 21 1, 381

Walker, F., 241, 314

Wappers, Baron G., 15, 22, 29,30,

38, 93, 403, 404, 405
Ward, E. M., 318
Warren, F., 117

Waterhouse, E., 322, 333, 350, 365
Watson, J. 1)., 144
Watts, G. F., 355, 395
Watts-Dunton, W. T., 174, 337,

344, 347
Wziugh, E., 366
Webb, P., 177, 215
Westminster Hall Competition, &c.,

32-36

Westminster Technical Institute, 33
Whistler, J. McN., 241, 280
Whitcomb, Mr., 23
White, D., 67, 101, 106, 114,115,

116, 118, 120, 129, 136, 181, 214
Whitman, Walt, 264
Wickliffe, Lives of, 367
Windus, G. B., 101, 120, 137, 151
- W. L., 1 10, 124, 129, 138,

159, i?i

' Bard Helen ;

\\'oodward, 147, 153

Woolner, Thomas, 91, 93, 99, 108,

109, 114, 121, 124, 126, 130, 133,

134, 135, 137, 150, 153
Tennyson, 1 2 1, 150
n<m>n, 134, 135, 'SO

The Father Curbing Hie l\ts-

sions of the Hoy, 124
Woolstonccraft, Mary, 130
Working Men's College, 151, 159,
196, 364, 425 et seij.

YARMOUTH, 238, 239

Spottiswoode c-' Co. Printers, Nciij-strcct Si/uarc, London.

REPRODUCTIONS

OF THE

CARTOONS

BY

FORD MADOX BROWN.

Mr. HAROLD RATHBONE having secured, at the sale of the effects of the
late FORD MADOX BROWN, a valuable series of his original Cartoons, has
had a selection of them reproduced by the Autotype Company, London.
The Portfolio consists of 20 Plates, measuring 18 by 24 inches.
Price TEN GUINEAS.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS, &c.

THE ATHBN&UM.

' These reproductions are remarkably successful, and exhibit the painter in a thoroughly
characteristic manner. They are instinct with style — that rare element in modern decor live
art— vigour, and originality ; and when grace is demanded, grace of a stately kind. They
are, in fact, models in their way, and we recommend them to the study of all who care for
what is Fine Art in our own time, and as excellently adapted for use in art factories and
schools of all sorts; and particularly for the walls of painters' studios.'

THE MAGAZINE OF ART.

' There is in them a display, not only of originality and breadth, but of a sense of
decoration at once dramatic and discreet, that renders the possession of a portfolio of these
reproductions a desideratum in all our schools of drawing and design.'

'DEPARTMENT OF PRINTS AND DRAWINGS,
DEAR MR. RATHBONE, 'BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON, W.C.

' I am much obliged to you for letting me see the series of Autotype Reproductions
which you propose to publish after a selection of Cartoons for stained glass by the late Ford
Madox Brown. I have at once ordered a copy for this department, and hope that all the
libraries and art institutions through the country may do likewise.

Yours sincerely, SIDNEY COLVIN.'
' MY DEAR MR. RATHBONE.

' I think your scheme excellent of issuing a series of photographic reproductions of
the very valuable and interesting Cartoons of that most original and individual of modern
English artists, Ford Madox Brown.

' It will give opportunities to his admirers to possess some of his finest and most
characteristic designs in convenient form, and should be most useful to all students and
schools of art. ' Wishing you every success to your enterprise,

' Believe me, very truly yours,

'WALTER CRANE.'

' I am delighted to see that you had some of the admirable Cartoons of Madox Brown
reproduced ; they are very representative, and I trust that they will spread the knowledge of
an art we all respect so much. ' Yours sincerely, L. ALMA TADEMA.'

' The designs for stained-glass windows made by Ford Madox Brown for execution by
Mr. William Morris I regard as eminently fine examples of invention and composition, full
of breadth of originality. No finer examples could be found for the study of art students in
Government Schools. 'W. HOLMAN HUNT.'

' I think it would be a great pity if some public body were not to secure the Brown
Cartoons now they are to be had, being such characteristic work of such a characteristic
master. ' Yours very truly, WILLIAM MORRIS.'

MAY BE OBTAINED FROM

Tin: AUTOTYPE COMPANY, 74 NEW OXFORD STREET, LONDON, W.C.

OR FROM

MR. HAROLD RATHBONE, 58 HAMILTON SQUARE, BIRKENHKAD.

Q

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY